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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27463717">BattleTech: Combat Evolved</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/IX404/pseuds/IX404'>IX404</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>BattleTech: MechWarrior, Halo (Video Games) &amp; Related Fandoms, Mass Effect Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Multiple Crossovers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 18:01:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>43,459</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27463717</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/IX404/pseuds/IX404</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>(AU). When the Star League began it's invasion of the Kerensky Cluster during the year 3054, Alex Wolverine believed that it would be the end of the Crusader Clans. Little does he, or the CO of Battle Group Delta know, is that they will soon be drawn into another universe, a universe where Humanity is on the run from a genocidal alien alliance... and a horrific new foe.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. LosTech & Lost Knowledge Recovery</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello everyone! I am IX404 and welcome to my first Halo - BattleTech: MechWarrior crossover. It's an honor and privilege to be writing a fanfiction that combines two storied universes into a single, combined whole. I've always wondered what would happen if the worlds of Halo and BattleTech:MechWarrior collided with each other. When I first posted that crossover on FanFiction.net, I got to see that dream realized. Since then, I've wanted other people to be able to read my works, leading to the creation of my account on Archive of Our Own. In addition to this crossover, I will be posting another crossover, one with the worlds of Halo and Terminator combined. This crossover is also a crossover with Mass Effect in the most recent chapters, as I will be adding that category. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity and I hope to see you on the other side. As always, leave any comments and reviews and enjoy!</p><p>Disclaimer: I do not own the Halor or BattleTech: MechWarrior franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Microsoft Game Studios, 343 Industries, Bungie, BioWare, Electronic Arts, FASA Corporation, FASA Interactive, Catalyst Game Labs and Piranha Games Inc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or artists.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Pyre Light - A New Dawn (Full Album Remix) </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Clan Occupied Space </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Toland </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>3054 </strong>
</p><p>Standing in the Union-IV class ship known to the crew as 'Betsy' and officially as the <em>SLS/CWS</em> Mjolnir's Twin, Star Commander Alex Wolverine was walking about, a slight frown on his face as he paced back and forth. Behind him, there were several other 'MechWarriors, each one with a determined look on their faces as they awaited news from the surface of the planet they were orbiting: Toland. The silence in the room only built up as they awaited news on the fate of ComStar's regiments down on the surface. They'd gotten an offer from ComStar to all available mercenary corporations for a massive contract, one that required multiple mercenary companies to fulfill. Everyone guessed that it was about the Clans, or Clanners, as people called them, when they heard about the contract. Once it was confirmed, various hardened mercenaries, including Alex's band, signed up as well. The reason why was simple: the aforementioned Clans. About a few months ago, members of the Kell Hounds mercenary company had spotted a new 'Mech, short for BattleMech, chassis that was unrecognized. Their targeting computers alternated between Mad, short for Marauder, and Cat, short for Catapult, leading to the unknown chassis being named the 'Mad Cat.' Unbeknownst to the Kell Hounds, the arrival of the Mad Cat would herald a new war.</p><p>Within a few months, it was found out that the newcomers were part of a human warrior society known as the Clans. Analysis of their language led to the realization that the Clans were the direct descendants of those that had left with Aleksandr Kerensky during the SLDF Exodus, the self-imposed exile the Star League Defense Force had entered when they left the Inner Sphere over 250 years ago. Apparently, they had returned to conquer the Inner Sphere and reclaim Terra, their primary target. In order to stop them, ComStar issued a challenge to the Clans at Toland, a mining world in Federated Commonwealth territory. It had been 20 days since the Battle of Toland had begun, 20 days since the war that would decide the fate of the Inner Sphere had begun. Now, Alex Wolverine and his mercenary company, known as 'Wolverine's Revenge', were in LEO around Toland, awaiting news of what was happening. If needed, they would come down to the planet surface, and teach those dirty Clanners a lesson they would never forget: never fuck with the Star League. "So, Commander," one his 'MechWarriors, a woman with blond hair that had a red stripe down the left side, asked, "What'll we be fighting down on the planet?"</p><p>"Clanners," Alex replied. "Lean, mean, dirty Clanners. Their 'Mechs are quite dangerous, not as much as those from the Star League, but still quite dangerous. Their training is what concerns me, however. They're on par with most of the Inner Sphere."</p><p>"So, what should we expect," another 'MechWarrior asked Alex.</p><p>"Expect a number of Clan Binaries, as well as a few, Trinaries, Clusters and Galaxies," Alex replied, using the Clanner's terminology for their forces. "Be mindful of your ammunition and aim for critical weaknesses in their armor designs. As long as we do that, we'll come out of this fight alive, if we have to fight that is."</p><p>He was about to order his men to their BattleMechs when his Com's officer said, "Sir, I've received a transmission from the surface!" That caused everyone to stand to attention, their hearts pounding as they awaited the news. "It's good news," the officer added. "The Clans have been defeated! Only Clan Wolf succeeded in it's mission, the rest either had draws, or outright failed!" As soon as they heard that, there was a loud, unanimous cheer as the 'MechWarriors, Alex and the crew cheered. ComStar's bid had paid off; the Inner Sphere was no longer in danger of invasion for the next fifteen years.</p><p><em>They did it</em>, Alex thought as the cheering continued. <em>We stopped the Clans at Toland. Now, we begin to press the fight once more.</em></p><p>As he continued to cheer, Alex heard the Comm's officer say, "Commander Alex, I've received a transmission from the SLS/FCS Guardian of Justice. They're asking your DropShip to head to their docking bay for a briefing. Apparently, it's important enough that the Prince himself wishes to speak to you." "I'll be coming over at 0300 hours," Alex replied. "Oh, and tell ComStar's general 'Warmest greetings and congratulations on his mission's success.'" With that, he walked away to his private quarters to sort his thoughts out.</p>
<hr/><p>A few hours later, Alex was looking over his mercenary company's financial expenses one more time, making sure to be thorough before leaving for the SLS/FCS Guardian of Justice. Running a mercenary company wasn't easy, nor was it cheap, but it was well worth the cost of doing so. For one, it meant freedom and glory for adventurous souls, and cold, hard D-Bills and C-Bills for those looking for money.</p><p>He looked absentmindedly at the stylized image of a Wolverine while typing in some numbers. The image of the carnivorous mammal wasn't the only reason why Alex shared it's name as his surname. The other reason why was simple: he was a Clanner himself, born and raised in Clan Wolverine within Federated Commonwealth Space. It wasn't always like this, as he tended to remind himself. During the early days of the Clans, Clan Wolverine showed itself as one of the most prosperous Clans, due to it's more… egalitarian policies. Most Clans had their castes as fixed positions; you couldn't elevate or degrade to another cast, as you were permanently in the caste you were born into. This caused a lot of frustration among some of the populace. Unfortunately, there was only one reason why this wasn't protested: Nicolas Kerensky. The older son of the great Aleksandr Kerensky, Nicolas Kerensky created the Clans in order to stop the cycle of violence that plagued the Inner Sphere, and the Star-League-in-exile after their arrival in the Kerensky Cluster. Unfortunately, N. Kerensky ruled with an iron fist: his word was law, and anyone that disputed this was either chastised, disciplined, or made to disappear. Fortunately, one Clan, Clan Wolverine, stood up to him. Because of this, and it's egalitarian policies, N. Kerensky had the clan spied on via the organization that became known as 'The Watch.' Khan MacEvedy, the leader of Clan Wolverine, though, wasn't afraid to stand up to someone she perceived as a bully and a madman. When the Grand Council for a valuable cache of Star League technology was being hosted, MacEvedy called out Kerensky on his actions and vowed to secede from the Clans entirely. Needless to say, N. Kerensky wasn't happy with that at all. He declared a war on Clan Wolverine, which elevated to a Trial of Annihilation after Clan Snow Raven's genetic repository had been nuked by a Clan Wolverine AeroSpace Fighter. Eventually, Clan Wolverine was annihilated, becoming the 'Not-Named Clan' and it's various members killed off or rendered chemically sterile… or so the story went.</p><p>What people didn't know, and what Alex knew, was that, during the final days of the war, Khan MacEvedy chose Adrian Wolverine, his ancestor, to save Clan Wolverine. She'd provided him with the means to access multiple Star League Era WarShips, which he'd used to transport the vast majority of Clan Wolverine and it's technology, out of the Kerensky Cluster. When the dust settled, 90% of Clan Wolverine had made it out of the Cluster. With little to do, Clan Wolverine was forced to migrate from place to place, having fully repaired and restored the WarShips for this kind of event. Eventually, they ended up migrating back into the Inner Sphere, cutting through the border between the Draconis Combine and Federated Suns. The Draconis Combine would've found them then, but a fleet from the Federated Suns found the Clan and, after some tense negotiations, had welcomed them into the Federated Suns, which was now the Federated Commonwealth. Since then, they had been living in the Inner Sphere, working as scientists, laborers, engineers, and warriors.</p><p>He was about to continue finishing up his work when he heard someone knocking on the door. Alex checked the time, about 0230 hours, before saying, "Come in, the door's unlocked." A moment later, one of his 'MechWarriors walked inside. "Is there something you need," Alex asked.</p><p>"Um… no," the 'MechWarrior, identified by his name tag as George Martin, replied. "I wanted to tell you that, given how sensitive this is, Prince Victor Steiner-Davion wants to speak to you in this very room. Apparently, it's a highly urgent and sensitive matter."</p><p>"Well, don't just stand there," Alex replied. "Send him in." With the 'MechWarrior walking out of the room, Alex watched as a younger man walked inside. Looking up, he immediately knew who this man was. There was no mistaking the green eyes, dark brown colored hair, the well sculpted facial features, as well as the uniform he was wearing. This was Victor Steiner-Davion, the son of Archon-Prince Hanse Steiner-Davion, the current leader of the Federated Commonwealth.</p><p>As far as he could recall, people were saying a lot of good things about Victor, and they had good reason to; he was intelligent, competent, and a master of tactics. This, combined with Victor's intense desire to learn, meant that he was an extremely intelligent and capable man. Normally, an Inner Sphere aligned Clansman like Alex would be wondering why a man who was barely 21 years old would be out here, in Clan Territory. The reason why was simple: all nobles in the Federated Commonwealth were required to have some combat experience before returning home to rule. There were also rumors that Victor didn't really like being bogged down by politics and things like that. He was a man of action, someone that preferred to be on the front lines of a battle, rather than being stuck at a desk that was possibly overloaded with paperwork. Alex could understand a man like that; in fact, he liked men like that, as they were men that wanted to get the job done so that they didn't have to do it twice. Looking up at Victor, Alex said, "Welcome aboard our DropShip, Prince Victor."</p><p>Victor responded with a slight grin on his face, before saying, "Oh, please, Alex. You know you don't have to do that when I'm around, not when we're in private. Besides, I'm a casual man, I don't like going overboard with protocol unless absolutely necessary."</p><p>Both men chuckled at that before Alex got up, giving Victor a bear hug in the process. Most people didn't know it, but Alex and Victor were very close friends to each other. The reason why was simple: Alex had grown up with Victor during his childhood and adolescent years. They'd met when they were in elementary school, and had become close friends ever since. When they were together, they often did things together, including the occasional prank on an unsuspecting teacher. After the brief greeting, both men sat down in opposite chairs before grabbing a glass of whiskey, though both men were careful not to get drunk. After a moment, Alex said, "I know you're not one that's big on protocol. Besides, they're more like guidelines than anything else. That being said, how's the family doing?"</p><p>"Quite well," Victor replied. "My sister Yvonne is doing quite well. She'll be old enough soon to head to the front lines of the war with the Clans. Her BattleMech instructors have been pushing her to her absolute limits, and according to them, her performance is actually increasing with the pressure she's under."</p><p>"What about Katherine?"</p><p>"Katherine's doing fine, though I am a bit concerned for her. She's been thinking of changing her name to Katrina Steiner-Davion, which will please her mother's side of the family. I'm worried since she's been acting a little… strangely as of late; she's always wanted to be an Archon-Prince, which she will be given time, but I think she wants it earlier than would be best for her."</p><p>"Well good luck with that. She knows the rules as well as anyone else does: you have to have combat experience before you become a ruling noble in the Federated Commonwealth. Speaking of which, how's her training going?"</p><p>"Well, but not as well as Yvonne's. Katherine was always a bit of a hothead at times, enough that her instructors have had to rein her in a few times now. Still, she's performing well, and she's due to head to the front lines in about a couple months. Her mother's side of the family, though, is protesting this, claiming that it would be suicide to send a woman to the front lines."</p><p>"Oh, they're bellyaching is all. The Clans, my own included, send women to the front lines regularly, and they perform well. They probably want to have Katherine as a pampered, spoiled brat so that they can dispute the joining of our star nations into a single whole. I take it Hanse put his foot down on that?"</p><p>"Oh, he certainly did. He had a… private discussion with the disputing nobles. Nothing bad, mind you, no one died, thankfully. When they came out of the room, the Steiner affiliated nobles looked like they'd been grilled on a barbecue, while my dad looked like he'd heard the best news in the Inner Sphere."</p><p>"Good. I always like it when arrogant, spoiled nobles are slapped in the face by reality. So, with that being said, how's Peter, your brother?"</p><p>"I'm happy to say that he's doing very well. He's leading the front lines in the war against Clan Shadow Jaguar, and they're performing very well. Also, he wanted to send his warmest greetings to you, in the event that ComStar won the Battle of Toland and that he hope's you're doing well."</p><p>"That's good to hear," Alex smiled. Leaning back after taking a sip, he said, "So… what's so important that you needed to speak with me in person?"</p><p>With that, Victor's smile faded as he put his glass down, having barely sipped out of it. Taking a breath, he let out a sigh before saying, "We received intel that Clan Jade Falcon was doing a search a star system roughly 20 light years away from our current position. Our source inside the Clan is adamant that the current Khan of Jade Falcon is looking for a Star League era science facility, one that was working on Hyperspace research."</p><p>That caught Alex's attention immediately. Hyperspace travel was possible because of the Kearny-Fuchida Drive, or K-F Drive for short. Developed in the year 2107, the K-F Drive worked by enveloping the JumpShip in a hyper-dimensional field that allowed a ship to 'teleport' from one point in space and time to another. While the teleportation seemed instantaneous, it actually took time, ranging from 5-15 seconds for modern K-F Drives, to over 375 seconds for Star League era K-F Drives. This fluctuation was due to the mass of the ship involved, as well as the range and technology base the drive was built on. While the K-F Drive had a theoretical jump range of 1200ly, it's practical jump range, due to planets, stars and other phenomena, was a comparatively measly 30-50ly. Therefore, whenever one heard of a Star League facility devoted to Hyperspace research and FTL Flight research, one was almost immediately interested. Leaning forward onto his elbows, Alex said, "Intriguing. So, what's so important about this facility?"</p><p>"According to our source," Victor replied, "this facility was on the cutting edge of Hyperspace research. Documents on the inside indicate that the Star League was attempting to improve the K-F Drive's capabilities, from shortening travel times further, to increasing the practical jump range. We think that they were able to increase the practical jump range of the K-F Drive to over 4,000 light years."</p><p>The silence was deafening. Once could see the cogs and gears turning in Alex's head as he thought this over. "How is this possible," he asked.</p><p>"We don't know how they were able to do it," Victor admitted, "mostly because the facility has been missing for the last 250 years, give or take a couple decades. However, our source, who has given us highly accurate intelligence for the past few years, was able to recover the documents that details the research the Star League scientists at that facility did before the Amaris Civil War and the First Succession War."</p><p>"Do we know where the facility is," Alex asked. "Because this sounds a little like a wild goose chase to me."</p><p>"Don't worry, we have a reasonable guess as to where it is," Victor replied. Leaning back, Alex was surprised to see Victor producing paper documents from a small black bag. Handing them to Alex, Victor said, "This is where we believe the Star League facility is located at, given the systems that Jade Falcon has already visited, as well as our own investigation into this Star League hyperspace research."</p><p>"Thanks," Alex replied, putting the manila folder onto his desk. "I'll be sure to give it a thorough reading at some point. Though, I suspect that we'll have more than just Clan Jade Falcon looking for this site."</p><p>"You read my mind," Victor replied, a rueful smile on his face. "I suspect that ComStar will be looking for the facility. We know that they've been responsible for trying to maintain balance in the Inner Sphere by capturing and storing any Star League technology and research that people find or research. It's a safe assumption that they'll be looking for this facility as well, as it represents a possible paradigm shift in Hyperspace technology."</p><p>"I agree," Alex replied. "I've encountered ComStar BattleMech companies before during my continuing time as a mercenary. They're highly devoted to their cause, I'll give them that much. Still, they're no match for Federated Commonwealth BattleMechs. One burst from an Advanced Autocannon and they'll be hurting for a while."</p><p>"That's true, but don't underestimate them," Victor admonished Alex. "I haven't had any personal experience with them, but I do know that they're fanatical. You defeat them once, they come back twice as numerous and twice as fanatical as before."</p><p>"We can agree on that," Alex concurred. After a moment, he said, "You know I don't think too much about money when it comes to something like this, but what's the payout for this kind of thing? I'm asking just out of curiosity. I know it'll be good, but I'm more interested in keeping this technology out of Clan Jade Falcon's talons and ComStar's greedy hands."</p><p>"I know," Victor replied. "You made it clear that you were more interested in defending the Commonwealth when you became a mercenary than money. The payout for this job is going to be roughly 20,000,000 D-Bills, which roughly equates to 22,222,220 C-Bills. In addition to all of this, you'll be receiving all rights to salvage from any Clan vehicles and 'Mechs you encounter, with the same going for ComStar 'Mechs that you encounter as well. While our technology is more advanced than theirs, we'll be analyzing the Clan's technology in particular in order to see how they've advanced."</p><p>"Alright," Alex replied. "Any insurance policies, because repairing damaged 'Mechs can be fairly expensive."</p><p>"You'll be having an insurance payout of roughly 4,000,000 D-Bills, roughly 4,444,440 C-Bills if the exchange rate is correct. That should be enough to partially cover the cost of repairs in the event you need any. Bring your best BattleMechs for this one, you'll need them."</p><p>"I always do," Alex replied. Getting up, he shook Victor's hand and said, "And trust me, when it comes to contracts from you, my answer is always going to be yes. I wish you well on your battles against the Crusader Clans. Give 'em hell, Victor."</p><p>"The same to you," Victor replied. "Kick Jade Falcon in the ass for me, and do the same for ComStar. Good luck."</p>
<hr/><p>Two hours later, in the briefing room/bridge of the <em>Union-IV Class</em> DropShip, the 15 'MechWarriors in the Mjolnir's Twin were present and seated, ready for Alex to being his briefing. Walking up to the holo-table, which was displaying a holographic image of the system they were in, Alex's DropShip Commander, a blond haired woman named Alexandria, cleared her throat before speaking. "Good Afternoon, my fellow 'MechWarriors. As you know, ComStar delivered a royal beating to the Clan's collective asses in the Battle of Toland."</p><p>"About time we had a victory," Franklin Patrick, one of Alex's best 'MechWarriors, remarked. "I thought it would be up to the Federated Commonwealth to show the rest of the Inner Sphere idiots how you fight a Clanner. Good to see that we don't need to."</p><p>"Indeed," Alexandria remarked. "Needless to say, we're not going to just sit back and sip an iced tea just yet. Not only would that be boring, it would also be in direct counteraction to a contract our company commander received courtesy of Victor Steiner-Davion himself. Alex, you have the floor."</p><p>"Thank you," Alex said to the woman before clearing his throat. Pulling out some manila folders, he passed them to the others and said, "As you all know, our esteemed Prince Victor came aboard to discuss a contract with me. However, this isn't our usual 'go blow this asshole up' contract, or our normal 'blow shit up' contract. This time, it's a 'go find some lost shit' contract. "According to the Federated Commonwealth's intelligence corps, a mole inside of Clan Jade Falcon discovered documents related to a Star League facility located in the territory that the Crusader Clans invaded recently. Intelligence indicates that the facility is located in the system Bensinger, which is in Jade Falcon's unlawfully stolen territory."</p><p>"So, what'd they find that's so important," George asked Alex.</p><p>"Well, the manila folders have the particulars, so I'll tell you the great fact that it is," Alex replied. "We are looking at a Star League facility that was performing research into advanced hyperspace physics. In other words, we're looking at a hyperspace range of over 4,000 light years. "According to Victor's contact, Clan Jade Falcon has been looking for this facility for some time, as their Khan recovered the original documents that FedCom's inside man managed to copy and get to us. Our mission is to head to this star system, recover any information that we find inside of this facility and get it to a FedCom research facility, specifically the New Avalon Institute of Science on the planet of the same name, or a WarShip fleet with a Science Division. If we encounter any Jade Falcon or ComStar BattleMechs, we are in the clear to neutralize them and take their 'Mechs and weapons as salvage. Any questions?"</p><p>"How much D-Bills and C-Bills are we getting paid for this," Tyrone Parsons, another 'MechWarrior, asked.</p><p>"Roughly 20,000,000 Davion Bills, which roughly equates to 22,000,000 C-Bills, if the exchange rate hasn't changed," Alex replied. "In other words, we'll have enough money to buy two Atlas V BattleMechs, with parts to spare. We won't be stinking rich, but it will greatly increase our monetary reserves in the event of a rainy day, even though it is already bulging at the seams with money. Any more questions?" When none presented themselves, Alex said, "Good. We're heading out to the facility tomorrow. I'd suggest that you get some much needed R&amp;R before we head out to the objective. Dismissed."</p><p>As the other 'MechWarriors left, Alexandria came up to Alex and said, "Commander, I also have something else to share with you as well."</p><p>"Go ahead," Alex replied.</p><p>"Before we began the briefing, I was contacted by Victor himself. He'll be sending a fleet of WarShips to secure the planet should it hold the Star League facility. I'll also have a Science Flotilla so that the eggheads can perform on-site research."</p><p>"That's good to hear," Alex replied. "Now, we'd best get some rest before we head to this facility. We'll need everyone bright eyed and bushy tailed before long."</p>
<hr/><p>The next day, Alex was in the 'Mech Bay of<em> Mjolnir's Twin</em>, making sure his <em>Atlas-IV</em> was ready for combat. He could tell that the best and brightest technicians that were in his company had paid special attention to every bit of the BattleMech itself. Even the paint was fresh, though it wasn't sticky anymore. Looking around, Alex could see several other BattleMechs. There was a <em>Mad Cat-IVb</em>, which was FedCom's Assault version of the Clan's Heavy BattleMech, the Timber Wolf or the Mad Cat by Inner Sphere naming terms. There was a <em>NightStar-IV</em>, as well as a<em> Mad Dog-IVa</em> in the 'Mech Bay. <em>The Mad Cat-IVb</em> looked especially intimidating, with it's twin Advanced Gauss Cannons, Advanced Medium and Large Variable Speed Pulse Lasers, as well as the two ATM-20 missile racks above each shoulder.</p><p>All of this was possible due to the Federated Commonwealth, and the earlier Federated Suns, technology. After the Amaris Civil War, many of the House Lords believed that their dominions were the rightful heirs to the Star League's throne, which had historically belonged to the now extinct House Cameron. Those that disputed this promised war should any of the other Great Houses try to take the throne for themselves, by hook or crook. Unable to keep the peace, General Aleksandr Kerensky, the Commander-in-Chief of the Star League Defense Force, decided to leave the Inner Sphere forever, along with anyone else willing to come with him. By the time the Great Houses found out about this, it was too late to stop General Kerensky, as he had long since left the Inner Sphere with the majority of the SLDF. That left the Great Houses to fight it out with each other.</p><p>The Succession War was nothing short of devastating. Whole cities were nuked into oblivion, whole sectors were being fought over and soldiers and civilians alike were being killed left and right. Just as another battle would've begun, that was when Jerome Blake, the head of Star League Communications, or ComStar for short, made a huge discovery. During the investigation into Richard Cameron's death, they found an audio recording of the late First Lord of the Star League. Much to everyone's surprise, he'd found out about Stefan Amaris' treachery in the end, and realized the trap he was in. To that end, he had chosen the successor to the Star League's throne in the event he was killed, and House Cameron destroyed; the successor state and it's leader in question… was John Davion of the Federated Suns.</p><p>When this discovery was broadcast throughout the Inner Sphere, it was a total shock, enough that it brought the Succession War to a complete stop. House Liao and Kurita disputed the claim, but when it was found that the documents were genuine, House Liao backed down and House Davion was installed as the rightful successors to House Cameron. Unfortunately, John Davion, and one of his sons, Joshua Davion, by Kuritan assassins seeking to eliminate any potential heirs to the Star League throne. This meant that the overwhelming responsibility was now on the shoulders of Paul Davion II, who was just 19 years old. Despite being so young, Paul Davion II showed a considerable level of moral responsibility, which quickly became evident during his reign as First Lord of the Star League. Acting quickly, Paul Davion II gathered together a strike force from the supporting Great Houses and initiated a blitzkrieg against the Draconis Combine. After nearly five years of intense fighting, House Kurita's House Lord was arrested, charged and found guilty of murder and conspiracy, and sentenced to death. This single act solidified Paul Davion II as a strong, and just leader, something the Star League desperately needed.</p><p>In order to end the war, the Great Houses signed the Inner Sphere Accords of 2800, along with the Ares Conventions of 2800, ending the Succession War in it's entirety. While the war was, thankfully, ended, the damage done was extensive. Whole facilities were destroyed, entire armies wiped out, and whole cities had been turned into nuclear wastelands by the Great Houses powerful nuclear arsenal. In order to save as much knowledge and technology as possible, Paul Davion II ordered the salvaging and recovery of as much technology and scientific research as possible. This was done both to save new designs, and to prevent certain forms of technology from being forgotten. First Lord Davion himself coined the term 'LosTech' to describe Star League technology that had been lost in the Succession War. Thankfully, they were able to recover almost all LosTech within the first thirty years after the Succession War, with scientific research continuing onward by then. The first sapient AI, code-named Daedalus, was invented in 2801, with advanced nanotechnology and other Hyper-Advanced technologies within the next 251 years. By the time the Clans had returned, the Inner Sphere had access to sapient AI, practical energy shielding, advanced ablative armor and a genetics engineering program that allowed adult human beings to undergo genetic modification, allowing them to become the best at their occupations.</p><p><em>A lesson that the Crusader Clans are about to learn the hard way</em>, Alex thought to himself. Climbing into his BattleMech, Alex went through the checklist, making sure his BattleMech was ready for combat. The 'Mech he was piloting, the <em>Atlas-IV</em>, was the latest generation of Atlas 'Mechs, which traced their roots back to the Amaris civil war, when Kerensky wanted a mech that was as powerful, capable and frightening as possible so that fear itself could be used as a weapon. Needless to say, they succeeded with the Atlas, which went on to serve as the basis for the current gen <em>Atlas-IV</em>. In the case of the <em>Atlas-IV</em>, Alex had gone for the default setup, known to Clans as the 'Prime Configuration.' In it's Prime Configuration, the <em>Atlas-IV</em> was armed with two ATM-10, three A-MPL's, and one A-UAC/20. It came armored with roughly 15 tons of Advanced Ferro-Lamellor ablative armor as well as a Diana II Energy Shield System. Thanks to the use of Advanced Triple-Strength Myomers, the <em>Atlas-IV</em> had a top speed of 84km/h, faster the original <em>Atlas</em> and increased heat loads greatly enhanced the Myomer's functions. It had roughly 4 tons of ammo for the A-UAC/20 and 2 tons of ammo for the ATM-10's, which were stored in CASE IV hard points (Cellular Ammunition Storage Equipment) located in the torso and legs. Once inside his BattleMech, he made sure all was ready to go before waiting for the others to do the same. Once their 'Mechs were ready, Alex contacted Alexandria and said, "Alexandria, what's the status on our arrival in-system?"</p><p>"We're in orbit around Bensinger's sole habitable planet," Alexandria replied. "The SLS/FCS Guardian of Liberty is reporting no hostile contacts in the system as of yet. Looks like we're the first ones on the scene, Alex."</p><p>"Anything unusual," Alex asked.</p><p>"Affirmative," Alexandria replied. "I'm getting a transponder signal from the night side of the planet. Looks like it's the facility we've been sent to find. I'll try to set you down as close as I can. After that, it'll be a walk to the facility."</p><p>"Roger that," Alex replied. "Just do what you have to do in order to get us close enough. We'll handle any walking from there." With that, the comm channel fell silent. After a moment, Alex asked. "Gentlemen, are you ready to get this done?"</p><p>"Affirmative," came the collective reply. "Good," Alex replied. "Let's get down there and get mean, ladies and gentlemen." Over the next four minutes, the <em>Union-V</em> Class DropShip slowly descended to the planet surface. There was a muted thump and some shaking that announced their arrival on the planet surface, then their 'Mechs began to be rotated.</p><p>A moment later, Alex heard his 'Mech powering up.<strong> "Reactor Online,"</strong> a synthesized female voice said. <strong>"Sensors Online, Weapons Online… All Systems Nominal."</strong> Moments later, he watched as the 'Mech Bay doors fully opened up.</p><p>"Alright," he said over the comms. "Alpha Star, power up and move out. Bravo and Gamma Stars, power up and move out as well. Alpha Star, form up on me." "Roger that," came the reply from his Star Mates." Easing the throttle forwards, his 'Mech slowly walked out of the 'Mech Bay, before he accelerated to maximum speed once he was clear of the 'Mech Bay. Turns out, Alexandria had been able to land directly at the facility, as Alex could see a nearby, derelict <em>Union-Class</em> DropShip nearby.</p><p>"Alexandria," Alex noted, "You landed us directly at the base. Good job."</p><p>"Glad to hear that," Alexandria replied. "I'm heading into the facility right now, sir. Once I'm inside, I'll attempt to locate the facility's Memory Core, which should hold the research and technology that we need to get to the Science Flotilla. Once I've downloaded the contents onto the DropShip's Memory Core, we'll exifil out of there. Your job is to make sure I'm covered until I can get out."</p><p>"Aff," Alex replied. "Anyone providing us assistance."</p><p>"Yes," Alexandria replied. "Surprisingly, it's Victor Steiner-Davion. His WarShip will be providing telemetry data, as well as reconnaissance for your Stars. I guess he wants to see this done as well as you do."</p><p>"I guess," Alex replied. "Alright, all 'Mech Stars, listen up. We need to hold this place as long as we can. Understood?" "Understood," the Star Leads replied. With that, they moved out. The area they were in reminded Alex of a talk he had with another 'MechWarrior, a man named Richard Mason, or Commander Mason as he was called in his Mercenary Company. According to Mason, they had found a Star League Era facility that had the symbol of the Clans painted on the blast door leading inside the facility. The facility had a series of defense terraces that had a number of derelict buildings, as well as Star League Era Laser Turrets. There were roughly 3 terraces that they had, during which they had defended against ComStar until their DropShip Captain, Ryanna, had downloaded the contents of the Memory Core in the facility, with the merc company leaving a few minutes later. Once that was done, they'd transferred the contents of the core to Spears, an agent working for Interstellar Expeditions, an archaeological company working to find LosTech.</p><p>Alex found that they were in a similar scenario now, only instead of three terraces, there were four of them, with Alex's Trinary on the lowermost terrace. Fortunately, it appeared as though time had been fairly kind to the defense turrets on the terraces, as they seemed like they were still in good condition. Alex could also see a number of repair facilities, though using them would be a direct downgrade in terms of protection and ammunition. Fortunately, their DropShip had two Mobile Repair Bays that had just been deployed. As he finished getting his 'Mechs into position, Alex heard Victor say, "Commander Alex, I don't know how they did it, but ComStar and Jade Falcon have both arrived via Pirate Jump Points. Expect inbound enemies any minute now."</p><p>"Aff, sir," Alex replied. "All Stars, listen up. We have enemy contacts inbound. Get ready for some heat." Moments later, Alex watched as two DropShips came to a hover above the snow covered ground, as the planet had an alpine climate. One was a <em>Leopard-IV</em> DropShip with ComStar's symbol, while the other was a <em>Union-II DropShip</em> with Clan Jade Falcon's symbol. As soon as they disgorged their 'Mechs, Alex and his team got ready for a fight. Much to their surprise, the two other factions began to fight it out with each other, as ComStar and Jade Falcon went at it with each other.</p><p>"Wow," George observed from his <em>Marauder-IV</em>. "Looks like ComStar and Jade Falcon are doing us a favor. They're taking each other out."</p><p>"Looks like it," Tyrone, the company's Elemental, observed from his<em> Mad Dog-IV</em> BattleMech. "Who knows, maybe they'll focus on each other more than us."</p><p>"I doubt that," Alex remarked as another<em> Leopard-IV</em> came down towards them. "All Stars, get ready to fight. We've got incoming ComStar 'Mechs!" Making sure his weaponry was ready one more time, Alex got ready to disgorge his A-UAC/20 at the enemy 'Mech. As soon as the first enemy 'Mech, a <em>Kintaro-IV</em>, came out from the underside of the<em> Leopard-IV</em> DropShip, Alex opened fire with his A-UAC/20, sending four 120mm HV-HEAP (Hyper Velocity-High Explosive/Armor Piercing) shells out at a velocity of 2,365 m/s. Three of the HV-HEAP shells impacted the enemy <em>Kintaro-IV</em> in the right arm and torso, with a few rounds bouncing off of a blue-white field of energy surrounding hte'Mech.</p><p>It was like a cascade effect after that, as all of Alex's Star Mates opened fire on their own enemy targets, A burst of blue-white energy tore through an enemy <em>Locust-IV</em>, the enemy vehicle a victim of the <em>NightStar-IV's</em> A-PPC. Alex could hear the pilot of the NightStar-IV, a woman named Alissa, cackling slightly at the sight. She was a bit crazy, but then again, you needed a special kind of crazy to be a 'MechWarrior, especially a Clan 'MechWarrior.</p><p>As the enemies came, Alex's Star and his other Stars continued to hold the enemy back. Spotting a <em>Mad Cat</em>, Alex moved his Atlas<em> IV</em> into position before firing his ATM-10's at the <em>Mad Cat</em>, peppering it with missiles. On his HUD, it's armor flashed an angry red as it fired it's Large Lasers at him. Instead of penetrating, the lasers bounced off of a translucent blue field of energy that faded into invisibility when the attack ended. Alex retorted with his A-MPL's, as well as a shot from his A-UAC/20 That finished off the enemy 'Mech, as two of the four round burst tore through the cockpit, killing the pilot inside. More gunfire peppered his 'Mech's backside. Whirling it around, Alex fired his ATM-10's and his A-UAC/20 at the <em>Kintaro-IV</em> he'd wounded earlier. This time, one of the shells he fired shell tore through the cockpit canopy, ending the life of the enemy 'MechWarrior. The BattleMech fell to the ground lifelessly, a muted thump marking it's death knell. The fighting continued like this for the next several minutes, with the BattleMechs firing all their weapons at each other. As Victor announced the arrival of more enemy forces, Alex and his men would move back a tier. A few minutes later, they were on the second-to-last tier, fighting off more 'Mechs. A moment after destroying a <em>Thor</em> BattleMech, Alex heard Victor say, "Commander, I recommend moving to the last defensive terrace now. Telemetry indicates that the enemy will attempt to land DropShips behind you. Also, be advised, the Clanners have declared a Trial of Annihilation that's been directed at you. They won't stop until your Trinary is dead."</p><p>"They'll have to try harder than that," Alex replied. "We're going through their 'Mechs like a kid eating Terran French Fries. Thanks for the heads up." Changing comm channels, Alex asked, "Alexandria, what's your status?"</p><p>"I'm at the Memory Core," Alexandria replied. "I'm in the process of downloading the Memory Core's contents. Move your BattleMech Stars to the DropShip. We'll have to bug out in a hurry once I've got the data."</p><p>"Alright, you heard the Prince and lady," Alex said to his team. "Move out!" All of Alex's Stars moved up towards the DropShip at the drop of a hat, their feet making hard, loud THUDS as they bee-lined it towards the friendly DropShip. Apparently, ComStar and Jade Falcon saw this as their chance, as roughly 5 DropShips came down where Alex and his fellow 'MechWarriors had been. "Heavy Metal people," Alex shouted. "We've got Heavy Metal incoming! Hold out until we've got the data!" If one had been standing on the surrounding cliff side, they would've seen a veritable light show. Laser beams, Autocannon shells and Missiles were being thrown through the air like so much confetti. 'Mechs were being torn apart very rapidly, with some falling over, unable to keep going, while others detonated as their Fusion Engines went critical.</p><p>Alex grunted when he felt something impact his 'Mech, the energy shield alarm warbling as part of his 'Mech flashed slightly. Looking at the display, Alex could see that the energy shields had failed, allowing an AC/10 round to impact the armor. Fortunately, the armor did it's job, as the component was still undamaged. Whirling his 'Mech around, Alex punished the enemy <em>Atlas-IV</em> for it's attack with his own A-UAC/20. While the enemy <em>Atlas-IV</em> survived the salvo, it lost it's left arm and part of it's left torso in the process, as it's shields had been downed by another 'MechWarrior earlier. Taking cover, Alex waited for the energy shield to recharge, which took around five seconds, before hopping out of cover and engaging more enemy BattleMechs. An Annihilator came out of cover, blasting away with it's AC/10's while advancing close enough to use it's Small and Medium Lasers. Dealing with an Annihilator meant that your 'Mech not only needed to be tough, it had to be agile as well. Fortunately, the Atlas-IV was both of those combinations, as Alex quickly moved his 'Mech around the Annihilator and began pummeling it's back armor with his A-UAC/20 as well as the ATM-10's and A-MPL's. After two seconds of concentrated firepower, the Annihilator fell onto it's face, it's Fusion Engine having been annihilated by the salvo.</p><p>Just then, Alex heard Alexandria say, "Commander, I've-"</p><p>"One second," Alex replied, as a<em> Shadow Hawk-IV</em> came too close to him. Reaching out with his 'Mech's right arm, the actuator on the end grabbed a hold of the <em>Shadow Hawk-IV</em>, allowing Alex to begin smashing the enemy 'Mech's cockpit against a rock column for a few seconds. After that, he punched the left actuator through the cockpit of the enemy 'Mech and crushed the pilot inside. Pulling the arm of the <em>Atlas-IV</em> out of the dead 'Mech, Alex said, "Say again?"</p><p>"Commander, I've got the data," Alexandria informed him. "I'm onboard the Mjolnir's Twin now. Get your men aboard and we'll get out of here as fast as we can."</p><p>"Aff," Alex replied. Dropping the now wrecked Shadow Hawk BattleMech, Alex keyed his comms and said, "All Stars, retreat to DropShip. We have what we came for. Let's get out of here." Not wanting to argue, the other 'Mechs retreated back to the <em>Union-IV</em> DropShip, firing their guns all the while. Once inside, the doors to the 'Mech Bay closed, allowing the DropShip to fire off it's engines, while it's mounted weapons allowed it to keep the enemy 'Mechs at bay. After a few seconds, the DropShip took off, accelerating rapidly as it climbed into the skies.</p>
<hr/><p>Coming onto the bridge, Alex wiped some sweat off of his face as he walked over to Alexandria. "So, how'd it go," he asked her as he walked over.</p><p>"Perfectly," Alexandria replied. "We've got the data, and all ComStar and Jade Falcon have are empty Memory Cores. There was more than one inside the base, which was why it took me so long to get all of the data. Fortunately, we had just enough room for all of the information; I've sent it over to the Science Flotilla."</p><p>"Good," Alex replied. "Any status on the enemy ships?"</p><p>"Affirmative," Alexandria replied. "The SLS/FCS Guardian of Liberty took them all on and won. ComStar and Jade Falcon have been forced to flee from the system without anything to show for it. That means that we have this planet all to ourselves, and what a find it is."</p><p>"Indeed," came a voice over the room's speakers. "Congratulations on a successful mission, Alex."</p><p>"Victor," Alex replied. "Good to see that you came out fighting. I hear that your ship took on the enemy and kicked them out."</p><p>"That's correct," Victor replied. "The good news is that the Science Flotilla has already decrypted the information that was in the Memory Cores on the planet. Quantum Cryptography is a wonderful thing to have; anyways, we've uncovered a treasure trove of information detailing their experiments. According to Socrates, the AI onboard the Science Flotilla, the data we've found suggests that the Star League was able to accomplish this advanced Hyperspace travel by modifying their K-F Drives."</p><p>"That's wonderful. So, is the K-F Drive onboard your ship capable of doing this?"</p><p>"Not at this moment, no. We need to perform a number of modifications to the internal systems as well as it's software to accomplish this feat. That will take about a few weeks to accomplish. Their experiments also indicate that they were able to jump to multiple star systems before the Amaris Civil War. We'll be heading back to New Avalon to discuss what to do with the People's Council. I think Clan Wolverine's Grand Council will want to speak with you too."</p><p>"Alright," Alex replied. "We'll head back to FedCom space in order to meet with the Grand Council. I have a feeling that they'll choose us as their envoy once we invade the Kerensky Cluster."</p><p>"That I I know for certain," Victor replied. "And with that, I'll say goodbye for now. Once you link up with Sojourner, the WarShip that brought you here, they'll take you back to Clan Wolverine space. Good luck."</p><p>"You too," Alex replied. Once the com-link was silent, Alex said, "Alexandria, is the DropShip ready to go?"</p><p>"Affirmative, Commander," Alexandria replied. "We're ready to leave on your order."</p><p>"Good," Alex replied. "Let's rock and roll then."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Council Meetings And Brave New Worlds</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Having recovered the information and LosTech at the SLDF facility, it is decided that Alex Wolverine and some of his men will accompany the SLDF 1st Naval Fleet to the Kerensky Cluster. Little does anyone know is that soon, the fate of Battle Group Delta will be forever altered.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello again, and welcome back, to my Halo - BattleTech: MechWarrior - Mass Effect crossover. Thank you for the support that I am currently getting for my crossover. I deeply appreciate it and I hope to see more in the future. Just so you know, my primary means of feedback is through comments and kudos, so if you want to suggest ideas or give any reviews, please let me known in the comments section below; I would deeply appreciate it. Also, the Mass Effect portion of this crossover will come, but in much later chapters, so be patient, it's on the way. Also, I will be using the end notes to occasionally post Codex Entries on some of the altered timeline's technologies and factions to give you a better idea of what's going on. Either way, thank you for your support, and I hope to see you in future chapters. As always, leave a comment, or a kudo and enjoy!</p><p>Disclaimer: I do not own the Halo - BattleTech: MechWarrior or Mass Effect franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Microsoft Game Studios, 343 Industries, Bungie, Electronic Arts, BioWare, FASA Corporation, FASA Interactive, Catalyst Game Labs and Piranha Games Inc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's respective composers and/or artists.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Next Move - MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries OST</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Federated Commonwealth</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Wernke System</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Clan Wolverine Grand Council</strong>
</p><p>The Grand Council for Clan Wolverine was considered by many to be a heavily revised and evolved version of the Clan's Grand Council from before the Trial of Annihilation. Like the Clan Grand Council, the Wolverine Clan Council had a number of members, roughly twenty in total, that decided on various matters in Clan Wolverine. Instead of overseeing the day-to-day affairs of Clan Wolverine, however, the Wolverine Grand Council focused on making decisions that affected the Clan as a whole, trusting the day-to-day affairs to the Lesser Khans and SaKhans of the Clan. On top of that, the Wolverine Grand Council's positions weren't hereditary in nature. Rather, each of the members was elected to the position by the Clan as a whole, in a manner very similar to that of the 21st Century United States of America. Members of the populace would hold a vote on a group of people that were eligible for the position. Once an individual was elected to the seat, they held that position for a grand total of 80 years, due to life extension technology and gene engineering, after which they were ineligible for further elections.</p><p>Walking up towards the building, Alex could see the Grand Hall that the Clan used for it's debates and decisions. Aesthetically speaking, the building resembled Terra's US Capitol Building, with it's late 16th Century inspired architecture, marble steps and stone pillars. While it looked like something from a 20th society, the building was actually constructed out of the most advanced materials that were currently available. It was also well protected, so much so that an invading force would have trouble getting inside the place. Today, the Wolverine Grand Council was in full session, and Alex Wolverine could clearly hear the commotion that was going on. Today, he was going to inform the Wolverine Grand Council on what they had discovered in Clan Jade Falcon territory, the fact that Clan Jade Falcon had declared a Trial of Annihilation, as well as what to do once the information had been translated into technology. If all went well, they would decide what to do and how to proceed.</p><p>Once he was inside, Alex walked up to the podium and made sure he was ready to go. About five minutes later, the SaKhans of Clan Wolverine entered, followed swiftly by Khan Sarah McEvedy IV, the descendant of Sarah McEvedy, the original Khan of Clan Wolverine. There'd been other Khans like her in the past, but none with her bloodname. She was the first of her family to have the title of Khan in a long time. Clearing his throat, Alex said, "My Khans and fellow Clansmen, the last 6 hours have been… well, they have been rather extraordinary as of late. Just after the Battle of Toland, my mercenary company, Wolverine's Revenge, was given a contract by Prince Victor Steiner-Davion, to investigate a planet that had a possible Star League era facility focused on Hyperspace technology research and development. According to Victor's mole inside of Clan Jade Falcon, the facility was being used to determine whether it was possible for a ship equipped with a advanced version of the K-F Drive to jump over four thousand light years in a single jump. Our K-F Drives can only do half of that before they require a recharge.</p><p>"Gentlemen, I can say with utmost certainty that we were able to fully recover the information stored on the facility's Memory Cores. The data, according to the Science Flotilla orbiting the planet, confirms that the Star League scientists at this facility were able to survey completely new worlds outside of the Inner Sphere. This was halted, of course, by the Amaris Civil War, which resulted in the cancellation and abandonment of the research facility. As for Clan Jade Falcon, we believe they would've used this research to attempt to restart the Clan Invasion, which they call Operation Revival. This jump range would've allowed them to jump past our borders and directly over Terra. Thankfully, we were able to recover the data and prevent Clan Jade Falcon from getting it's talons onto this information. However, I've learned that they've declared a Trial of Annihilation against Clan Wolverine as a result."</p><p>"Fucking technology could be used to start a Second Succession War," a SaKhan observed. "If Jade Falcon got their hands on it… I don't want to think of what would happen next."</p><p>Khan McEvedy IV, who looked like a fourth edition of her ancestor, asked, "Star Commander Wolverine, what is the status of the data you recovered from this facility?"</p><p>"It's currently in the hands of Prince Victor Steiner-Davion," Alex replied. "He assured me that the Federated Commonwealth is taking every precaution with studying this technology so that it can be used safely. According to his scientists and engineers, it will take about two weeks for them to begin production of the new components for our military fleets."</p><p>One of the SaKhans stood up and fixed his gaze on Alex. "Does Prince Victor have any caution about the possible dangers?"</p><p>"That's why they're going to be testing this drive before using it," Alex replied. "Prince Victor, in a recent transmission, informed me of his concerns. He's planning on sharing the technology with the other Great Houses in order to prevent a technology war from happening anytime soon. Should the tests the scientists and engineers run turn out to be OK, we'll have a major strategic advantage over the Crusader Clans, not that we didn't have any in the first place."</p><p>"Good to see that Victor's caution hasn't waned as of late," another SaKhan remarked.</p><p>"Indeed," Khan McEvedy IV agreed. "The fact that Clan Jade Falcon has learned of our existence, and declared a Trial of Annihilation is... troubling, to say the least. If history is an excellent teacher, then I have no doubt that the other Crusader Clans will declare a Trial of Annihilation against our Clan, just as they did hundreds of years ago. In the worst case scenario, the Warden Clans might do the same."</p><p>"I agree," another SaKhan concurred. "We'll need to build new WarShips, recruit Captains and crews to man them, along with more AeroSpace Fighters. We'll also have to recruit and train more Combat Vehicle operators, 'MechWarriors and the like."</p><p>"I'm not sure if our Clan can support this kind of military build up," a Lesser Khan countered. "Remember, we might be highly advanced, but our economy is every bit as fragile as the Federated Commonwealth's. One wrong move, and we may end up millions or, goodness forbid, <em>billions </em>of C-Bills and D-Bills in the red."</p><p>"Well, then. What would you suggest we do," the SaKhan inquired.</p><p>"We've already got the support of House Davion, and the Star League," the Lesser Khan pointed out. "If we ask for their support against the other Clans, we won't have to spend so much on increasing the strength of our military. We can have our units guard strategic locations, while the AFFC takes on the normal missions against the Clans."</p><p>"I'm not sure if..."</p><p>They were interrupted when Khan McEvedy IV raised a hand in the air. "Gentlemen, both of your proposals are excellent, but Lesser Khan Buckler is correct in asking for help. While we, as a Clan, are a proud and mighty people, asking for help is almost always a good thing. Some here might think asking for help is a sign of weakness, but that only shows their arrogance. Allies can always make you stronger." Standing up, she said, "My fellow SaKhans and Lesser Khans, I propose that we have a short recess in order to discuss the viability of both proposals before we make a decision. Star Commander Alex Wolverine, will you wait outside of the Council Chambers while we come to a decision? We'll call for you when we're ready to speak to you again."</p><p>"Aff, Khan McEvedy," Alex replied. Taking a bow, he walked outside of the Council Chambers and sat down in a nearby bench. Alex didn't like politics, though he did understand the necessity of them. <em>A necessary evil, </em>he told himself. <em>I wonder how Victor's doing right now. Probably convening with his AI's on how to best invade the Kerensky Cluster. It'll be good to knock the Clans down a peg or two.</em></p><p>As he thought this over, a large shadow loomed over him. A deep voice promptly said, "Well, well, well. I didn't expect to see you here, Alex. I thought you were allergic to politics." He looked up to see a 7 foot tall man that was wearing a Clan Wolverine Uniform. The uniform was almost too small for the man to use, as his impressive musculature was enough that the uniform was nearly bulging at the seams. Despite the man's gargantuan size, he had a surprisingly handsome face, with well chiseled facial features, Green eyes, blond hair and a clean shaven face.</p><p>Alex immediately recognized the man. "Osman," he beamed, getting up and clasping the man's forearm with his hand. "I thought you were out in Crusader Clan territory kicking their asses. What brought you back here?"</p><p>"A minor combat injury, though the doctors are always fussing over it," Osman replied, showing off his left arm, which was currently in a cast. "Broke it while I was fighting a whole Star of Clan Smoke Jaguar <em>Elemental's</em>. That was some seriously tough competition, I will admit that; fortunately, I had some friends in BattleMechs that were able to put the hurting on them. They won't be coming back from that, fortunately."</p><p>"That's some good news. Hopefully, Smoke Jaguar will think twice about taking on the Inner Sphere. They got their asses kicked."</p><p>Both men laughed lightly at that. Osman was one of his friends from the days that Alex had spent as a civilian in the laborer caste as a boy. They'd discovered Alex's skill with a BattleMech when Alex, as a child, began playing around with the interior of a <em>Kit Fox-III </em>BattleMech. When his dad, Richard, found out, Alex had been pleading not to be punished, but was surprised when Richard began laughing. Eventually, when Alex had come of age, Richard had honed the young man's talent for BattleMechs to a razor sharp edge. Osman was there the entire way. Born in the Warrior Caste of Clan Wolverine, Osman was a <em>trueborn, </em>a child born inside one of the advanced, artificial wombs, known as Advanced Growth Chambers, that the Clan used for it's Warriors, though quite a few were <em>freebirths </em>as well. When the two met, there had been some friction, as Alex was a <em>freebirth</em> and not a <em>trueborn</em>, but eventually, the two became close friends after getting to know each other. Since then, they were like brothers, despite being born from different bloodnames; Osman had won the Conners Bloodname in his Trial of Bloodname. Alex had won his ancestor's blood name, Wolverine, in a similar Trial of Bloodname. After settling down, Osman sat down next to Alex and asked, "So, Alex, what's going on in there that required you to go inside?"</p><p>"I'm afraid that's classified," Alex replied. "No offense intended. I'd tell you straight out if I could, but Khan McEvedy IV declared the information we got to be of a sensitive nature. As a result, I can't tell you, unfortunately."</p><p>"No need to apologize," Osman replied. "I understand the need for secrecy completely. Khan McEvedy IV is just acting in the best interests of the Clan as a whole. I'd follow that woman into the deepest reaches of Crusader Clan territory."</p><p>"I'm certain you would," Alex replied. Just then, the door to the Council Chambers opened, with an aide whispering something to Alex. After the door closed, he looked at Osman and said, "Well, I'm afraid that I'll need to go now, Osman. Duty calls."</p><p>"Same here," Osman replied. "I hope your mission goes well."</p><p>"Same to you," Alex replied. "Make sure that arm heals up properly. I'd hate for you to break it again." With that, both men parted ways. Walking inside the Council Chambers, he found that all the SaKhans and Khan McEvedy IV were inside once more. Once he was inside and at the podium, McEvedy IV said, "We've reached a conclusion. The Grand Council of Clan Wolverine has decided that, in addition to bolstering our own military forces, we'll request aid from the Federated Commonwealth as well."</p><p>"Sounds good," Alex replied.</p><p>"Which brings us to the next part of our decision," McEvedy IV continued. "Due to the fact that Clan Jade Falcon has declared a Trial of Annihilation against us, I believe it would do well for one of our own to answer this trial. Given your exemplary performance against Jade Falcon in the star system of Nowhere, we have decided to choose you, Star Commander Alex, along with several other Clansmen, to represent us in the fight against the Clans. Should we succeed, we may see an end to the Clan Invasion in our lifetime. The choice is yours, Alex."</p><p>While Alex was impassive outside, inwardly, he was deeply surprised, and somewhat hesitant. While he deeply desired revenge against the other Clans for what they did to his over 250 years ago, he remembered a lesson from his father. 'Revenge is like a poison, son. It can take over every part of your life, until there's nothing left but that desire,' his father had once said. As a result, he was inwardly debating on whether or not he should go. "Is there anyone else that's suitable," he asked the Grand Council.</p><p>"No," was the near-unanimous reply.</p><p>After a few seconds of silence, Alex gave a sigh, then said, "Well, if there are no others in the Clan, other than those already chosen, that are suitable, then I'll go. I would like to bring Elemental Osman Conners with me, though. He and I have been friends for a long time, and we synergize well together."</p><p>"We can arrange that," McEvedy IV replied. "This Grand Council is concluded."</p><hr/><p>In the following three months that passed, the Star League's best scientists had gotten to work implementing the new technology. Surprisingly, the research and engineering AI's in the Star League's research division was able to improve the technology further, allowing WarShips and CommercialShips to have a theoretical jump range limit of 4200lys. As a result, all Inner Sphere WarShips could now support their forces at an extended range, which would allow them to get at the Clanners once and for all.</p><p>That was something that was unique about the K-F Drive. While it had impressive range theoretically, it's practical range was fairly limited, due to the fact that the area of the Milky Way galaxy they were in was denser than normal. This meant that, combined with earlier research, there were more planets than stars and there were more stars than normal in the Orion-Cygnus Spur. As a result, while Advanced K-F Drives had very long ranges, up to 1200 ly to be exact, their practical jump range was limited to a measly 50-80 ly in comparison. Eventually, the modified drive components were ready. According to the research, in order to conduct advanced Hyperspace travel, the K-F Drive needed a modified K-F Drive Coil, an advanced k-F Drive Capacitor, as well as modified software to safely make the jump. Combined, this would allow a K-F Drive equipped ship to make the jump from one location to another safely, as K-F Drives folded the fabric of space-time to jump long distances. Originally, a jump would take roughly hundreds of seconds even though it felt instantaneous; nowadays, jumps only took roughly five seconds for the lightest ships, to fifteen seconds for the largest ships.</p><p>This new method of K-F Drive travel took the old science and completely turned it on it's head. Instead of simply teleporting a ship from one point to another, the new FTL drive, classified as the Advanced K-F Drive by FedCom scientists, used the hyper-dimensional field to create a wormhole leading to a higher dimensional form of normal space. Once the wormhole was open, the ship would travel through, with the hyper-dimensional field ensuring that the ship and it's crew remained unharmed for the duration of the jump. This was possible due to String Theory, a version of quantum mechanics that was able to incorporate gravity in it's framework. According to String Theory, there were seven other dimensions in addition to the 4 dimensions that human beings were accustomed to. Calculations by the Star League Science Command indicated that a ship using these higher dimensions, called 'Hyperspace' by the SL scientists, would allow a ship to have similar travel times to a normal K-F Drive, but with nearly four times the range of a standard K-F Drive. This would also allow a ship to be less concerned about hitting any normal space objects, as these hidden dimensions would allow the ship to circumvent many of the hazards of long range FTL flight.</p><p>That was why Alex was sitting in <em>Mjolnir's Twin</em>, tapping his feet absentmindedly as the WarShip his DropShip, and roughly thirty other DropShips, were docked to started getting ready for a Jump. Finding a suitable system to jump from was difficult, as they needed to be as close to the Kerensky Cluster as possible without alerting the Clans to their presence. It was determined that the Bensinger system, which they'd visited previously and was a short jump from Clan Territory, was the ideal system from which to begin the invasion. Since they were close to being in Clan territory, though, Victor had brought his fleet with him both to begin the invasion; in total, there were roughly 500 ships, with roughly 100 Mobile Shipyards and Supply Carriers serving as logistical support for the fleet. While the Advanced K-F Drive had been thoroughly tested, and found to be safe to use, it hadn't been used in a military setting before, hence the impromptu test. All of the ships in the fleet had the modified K-F Drive components, so there was no concern that the largest ship in the Federated Commonwealth needed assistance. The <em>Guardian of Liberty </em>was a large ship to begin with at 9 km in size, but she needed an escort in case smaller, more agile ships, came to harass her, and the Clans had plenty of those at their disposal.</p><p>As he waited, Alex looked at his crew roster one more time. During the three weeks they had in order to upgrade the technology, he had decided to recruit some more 'MechWarriors for his mercenary company. He only needed five more people in his company, and he had more than enough revenue to cover for the expenses. Of all of them, he felt that Conrad Wright was probably going to be the best out of the recruits. He had already been in several mercenary companies, and left those due to the fact that most didn't appreciate his pro Fed-Com beliefs. <em>That won't be a problem here, </em>he thought to himself. <em>Everyone in here lives in the Federated Commonwealth. </em>'MechWarror Xi Yang Long, however, was the one that he was the most concerned about. While she was an excellent 'MechWarror, her past was a bit… questionable to be frankly honest. She was born in the Draconis Combine and had a strong sense of duty, but she had a rigid code of conduct that tended to clash with the more laid back attitude that Alex permitted on his ship. <em>She'll have a tough time adjusting, </em>he thought, <em>but I'm confident that she'll learn to loosen up some more. I just hope she learns it sooner rather than later, when that might be needed.</em></p><p>Then there was the ship he was on. The 4km long SLS/FCS <em>Dallas </em>was one of the more standard sized ships in the Star League Naval Command. Built about three years ago for the newly created Naval Battle Group Delta, the <em>Dallas </em>was a newcomer to the Clan Invasion, or the Second Succession War if the media had anything to say about it. Despite this, her crew was well trained, highly disciplined, and knew how to make use of every part of the <em>Dallas' </em>arsenal in the most efficient and deadliest fashion possible. Then there was the Admiral of the ship itself: Admiral Mikhail Chernenko. <em>Ah, Chernenko, </em>Alex thought, a smile on his face as he recalled the old, grizzled veteran. Admiral Mikhailovich Chernenko, or Admiral Mikhail as he preferred to be called, was one of the most experienced veterans in the Federated Commonwealth. He'd earned his position through sheer skill, both on the battlefield and off of it, particularly during major naval battles against House Kurita.</p><p>To most, Mikhail was seen as rough, blunt and brutally honest. To Alex, however, Mikhail had the qualities that he believed was befitting of a , which were that he had the respect of his men, a cunning, intelligent mind, and was somewhat unhinged in certain aspects. After all, in order to captain a WarShip, one needed to be partially unhinged in order to be successful. With this in mind, he began to get up when Mikhail came up on the holographic table in the center of the DropShip's bridge. Mikhail was an older individual than Alex was at the age of 95 and he was physically different, with graying hair, light blue eyes that were almost gray, and a scar running down the left side of his face. Despite his aged, weathered exterior, Alex knew that, with modern medical technology, Mikhail would live to the ripe, old age of 595 years. He only looked old because he didn't get the genetic and nanotech treatments until he was roughly 74 years old, when his organs began to fail, necessitating the treatments. Either way, the man moved with a vigor and energy that was seen in a very young man, and it was evident despite his aged, husky voice. "Star Commander Alex, It's good that we're meeting again. I take it the life of a mercenary is doing well for you?"</p><p>"Yes, Alex replied. "Being a mercenary is fun, in a lot of ways. You can go wherever the money is, find adventure around the corner, and make friends and enemies wherever you want. It's quite fun, you should give it a shot."</p><p>"Quite true," Mikhail replied. "This will probably be my last jump as a Admiral. I've been thinking of retiring and heading to a naval academy to teach the next generation of recruits that are aspiring for my position."</p><p>"That's sad to hear. The Federated Commonwealth will need a good Admiral like you to see the Cluster Invasion through."</p><p>"I know. Don't worry, I won't retire until the Clans have been defeated once and for all. We'll show them we're not the ruthless barbarians that they believe us to be, even if we have to drill it into their heads via Advanced Ultra Autocannons."</p><p>"I hear you there. So, what's the military plan for this part of the invasion?"</p><p>"Victor's fleet will be testing out the new K-F Drives to see how far we can jump. Remember, while the theoretical jump range is long, the fact that we're in the Orion Spur means that the practical jump range is only 30-50 light years per jump. Hopefully, the use of the new technology means that we'll be able to jump straight to the Kerensky Cluster, rather than having to chain jump to the cluster itself."</p><p>"Affirmative," Alex replied. "Well, when you're ready, let me know. We've got a war to win. Alex Wolverine, out."</p><p>"I'll let you know as soon as we're through. Admiral Chernenko out." With that, the comms fell silent, leaving Alex to prepare for the Jump.</p><p>Turning to Alexandria, he said, "Alexandria, inform the crew to begin Jump preparation procedures. The WarShip were connected to is about to make the jump to Jade Falcon territory. I want everyone ready to go as soon as Chernenko announces the K-F Jump." As Alexandria got to work informing the crew, Alex made sure he was seated properly in his command chair. Once he was certain that he was safely strapped in, he waited for the ride to commence.</p><p>Up in the bridge of the <em>Dallas, </em><em>Admiral</em> Chernenko was finishing up the preparations for the K-F Jump. According to the mission briefing he'd gotten, they were heading back to Bensinger, where they'd gotten the K-F Drive LosTech, in order to use it as the spearhead for the Federated Commonwealth's invasion of Clan Jade Falcon territory. Once the planet was theirs again, they would head towards the strategic systems that Jade Falcon held while a defense fleet kept Bensinger safe until it's ODN (Orbital Defense Network) platforms were ready once more. That wasn't the only part of the plan. According to the briefing, Chernenko had learned that the Draconis Combine was also going to assist in the operation. The DCMS (Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery), apparently, felt that the Clans had used dishonorable tactics in order to gain what little territory they did. As a result, they really, really wanted payback against the Clans, particularly Clan Shadow Jaguar, for invading the Draconis Combine and, by direct extension, the Inner Sphere.</p><p>Taking off his Navy cap, he brushed his hair back before replacing the cap. Personally speaking, Chernenko knew that he really wanted to see the Clan's punished for their crimes against the Inner Sphere. The only reason the Clans were able to invade in the first place was because of stealth and their damned code of honor in battle. Now, they were about to learn what happened when a Hyper Advanced Inner Sphere got angry. A moment later, he heard his Systems officer say, "Admiral, K-F Drive is fully charged and ready for jump. All ships in the military and construction fleets are reporting that they're ready as well. All DropShips have completed Jump Operations. The SLS/FCS <em>Guardian of Liberty </em>has begun it's countdown."</p><p>"Excellent," Chernenko replied. "Begin the Jump Countdown for this ship." Keying the comms, he said, "All hands, prepare for Jump. 2 minutes to K-F Drive Activation."</p><p>Slowly, the seconds began to tick down as they approached the moment they would jump. "T-Minus thirty seconds," the AI of the ship announced. Buckling in, Chernenko awaited the moment they would jump. "T-Minus ten… nine… eight… seven… six… five… four… three… two… one…"</p><p>Deep in the bowels of the <em>Dallas</em>, the Advanced, Compact K-F Drive began to spool up, as it's systems prepared to create the hyper-dimensional field that would allow the new K-F Drive to access Hyperspace, allowing the ship to travel to Bensinger. Electricity flowed through it's advanced, nanocomposite superconductors, super-capacitors, and the Advanced K-F Drive Coil responsible for creating the hyper-dimensional field in the first place. Upon activation, the energy stored in the Advanced K-F Drive Core surged into all the required components, allowing the K-F Coil to begin creating the hyper-dimensional field required for the Jump. Moments later, the ship became surrounded in an eerie, blue-white glow before dashing forward. The ship, from an outside observer, would've seemed to elongate as it jumped into Hyperspace, though this was just an illusion due to light lag. Just seconds apart, each of the ships in the fleet initiated the Jump as well, the same blue-white glow surrounding their ships before vanishing entirely. The <em>Guardian of Liberty's </em>jump was certainly a light show, as the massive ship glowed intensely before making the Jump as well. On board the <em>Guardian of Liberty,</em> Victor Steiner-Davion was surprised to find himself looking at a vista of stars as the ship traveled through the hyperspace wormhole. Nebula, stars, and clusters of stars whizzed past the bridge of the WarShip. Barely audible whispers teased at the edge of his hearing before they emerged at Bensinger's zenith point. Surprisingly, Victor didn't feel any nausea or disorientation at all; turning around, he found it was the same case for his crew. Even those that had severe TDS (Transit Disorientation Syndrome) didn't display any symptoms at all. "Status report of all ships," he asked.</p><p>Moments later, the AI of the ship, known as Odysseus, appeared over the holo-table. The AI looked just like his namesake from Homer's epic, <em>The Odyssey,</em> with his Ancient Grecian armor and gear. "400 out of 500 ships have reported a safe Jump."</p><p><em>"</em><em>400</em>," Victor asked, confused and concerned. Every time a ship went missing, let alone a hundred ships, it was cause for concern. "I thought we jumped with 500 ships. What happened to the missing ones? Who was in charge of that battle group?"</p><p>"Analyzing," Odysseus replied. There were a few tense seconds of silence, then, "Prince Victor, Battle Group Delta did not make the jump successfully. They impinged on a spatial anomaly as soon as they jumped?</p><p>"What kind?"</p><p>"According to my calculations, an unusual spatial anomaly, sir. I believe the ships impinged upon what I believe was a cosmic string just as it jumped."</p><p><em>Damn,</em> Victor growled inwardly. Of all the things to happen, this one happened to be the worst of it. It was well known that WarShips, since they carried a K-F Drive, could suffer what were known as 'misjumps', which was when a ship made the Jump, but ended up either several hundred years into the past or future, or ended up wildly off course. The worse case scenarios involved the crew being forcibly melded with the hull of the ship, while still alive. This, however, was <em>the</em> worst case scenario. Cosmic strings were theorized to be remnants of the Universe's creation, and were considered essential for a universe that needed to support life. It was theorized that, if a ship equipped with a Compact K-F Drive impinged on a negative mass cosmic string, it might either end up in a completely different galaxy, or it might end up in another universe entirely. If that was the case, then Victor knew he had to consider Battle Group Delta, commanded by Admiral Chernenko He felt a stab of pain and loss at the fact that a fine crew had been lost to a spatial anomaly. "I guess we'll have to…," Victor began. Just then, a thought entered his mind, one that was crazy enough to be possible. "Odysseus, is it possible to replicate what happened in a laboratory?"</p><p>"Unknown," Odysseus replied, creasing his holographic eyebrows in thought. "K-F Drive science is still an ever-expanding field. Why do ask?"</p><p>"Because if we can, we can recover the missing ships<em>,</em>" Victor replied. "We'll have to do it when we end our war with the Clans, preferably with their defeat. Once that's done, I'll devote all our scientific resources into finding a way to cross into other realities. If the K-F Drive can teleport a ship to another part of the universe, it might be able to do something similar when it comes to getting to another universe. That can only happen, though, if we win the war against the Clans."</p><p>"That might work," Odysseus replied. After a moment, he said, "Prince Victor, all ships are ready for the invasion. Do you wish to commence?"</p><p>"Yes," Victor replied. "Inform the Captains of each ship to begin the attack. All ground teams are to head to the planet to complete their objectives. Today marks the day of the end of the Clans." As the ships began moving towards Beta VII's sole, inhabitable planet, Victor looked at the red hologram that marked the missing WarShips.<em> I won't give up hope, </em>Victor thought. <em>If we can jump from one point to another in our universe, the same might be possible for another one. Hang in their, </em><em>men</em><em>. When we can, we'll come back</em><em> to rescue you.</em></p><hr/><p>Onboard the SLS/FCS <em>Dallas</em>, Chernenko noted nothing out of the ordinary as the ship made the Jump. He did notice something odd, though, when he felt a moderate jolt running through the deck, as though the ship had hit a small asteroid as soon as it had jumped. A moment later, the ship reentered normal space, coming into orbit around a bright star with several gas giants orbiting it. "Status report," he asked the bridge crew.</p><p>"I'm not getting an Advanced HyperPulse Generator link-up," the Communications officer informed Chernenko.</p><p>"Engineering's reporting strange energy fluctuations in the K-F Drive, sir," The Ship Systems officer replied.</p><p>"How long until the K-F Drive's operational again," Chernenko asked.</p><p>"3 minutes, maximum, sir," was the reply. "Engineering's already hard at work on the problem."</p><p>"Good. What about the hull integrity and life support?"</p><p>"All systems are within normal operating limits. Hull and armor integrity is unchanged. Shields are still online and operational."</p><p>Chernenko breathed a sigh of relief at that. When a misjump, as that was what he suspected had happened, the first thing the Admiral had to do was make sure that the ship wasn't in immediate danger of being destroyed. With that completed, he asked, "Any casualties from the misjump?"</p><p>"All officers are reporting in," an officer replied. "No casualties reported on all DropShips and all decks of the WarShip. I'm also reading 100 other WarShips that were pulled in with us. They're reporting their status as operational. No casualties on all ships."</p><p>"That's good news," Chernenko breathed. That was one thing he was worried about. in a misjump, the chance that the crew of the misjumped ship might be forcibly melded with the hull of the ship, or have suffered some other dreadful fate was always high. Fortunately, it appeared as though they'd dodged a bullet in that regard. "Persephone, report."</p><p>Persephone, the <em>Dallas' </em>Neural Intelligence, the Star League's official name for an AI, appeared on the holo-table. "I've completed my scans," Persephone replied. "We are in the Nadir Jump Point of a G-Class star. As of now, we are in uncharted territory. I recommend caution, Captain."</p><p>Nodding to himself, Chernenko began mulling over his options. "Persephone, run a scan for any nearby planets. If anything anomalous comes up, inform me immediately. Power up point defense systems. Fire Control, power up weapons, but do not engage anything unless it attacks us first. I do not want to start a First Contact War if anything goes wrong."</p><p>"Affirmative," Persephone and the Fire Control officer replied. As the Fire Control officer began powering up the <em>Dallas' </em>formidable arsenal of weapons, Persephone began to scan the star system for any planets they could land on. The crew fell silent during this time.</p><p>As time passed, Chernenko began to wonder what had happened. He remembered a quote from a detective that had recently become popular again in mystery novels, 'Once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.' With that in mind, he began mentally compiling a list of reasons that might explain what had happened. <em>We didn't have a drive malfunction, </em><em>because the drive would've shut down immediately</em><em>, </em>he thought to himself, <em>so we can eliminate that possibility. Then there's the possibility that this was an act of sabotage on the Clan's part, but we made sure the K-F Drive was </em><em>not tampered</em><em> before making the jump, so that's out of the question. The last possibility is that we encountered some kind of spatial anomaly the moment we jumped. There were no asteroids in front of us, so that's the likeliest possibility. </em>Either way, the possibility that they had encountered a spatial anomaly wasn't a comforting one. It could mean any number of things, from being teleported to another part of the Universe, to being sucked into a completely different universe. Fortunately, it seemed as though the laws of physics still operated normally where they were at, so it was possible they were simply in another part of the galaxy entirely. His musings were interrupted when Persephone said, "Admiral, I have detected an anomaly in this star system. Scans indicate that there is an unusual gravitational fluctuation on the southern portion of the star system's elliptical plane near an uncharted gas giant."</p><p>"What kind of gravitational anomaly," Chernenko asked.</p><p>"I am unable to confirm without closer inspection, thought the level of gravity indicates that we are possibly looking at a space station. The K-F Drive is reading as fully operational now, along with intra-system FTL flight and impulse engines. I recommend using the Alcubierre Module to jump closer to the gravitational anomaly for a more detailed analysis."</p><p>There was a moment of indecision, then Chernenko said, "Make the jump to the space station. Inform the fleet to jump in to assist the SLS/FCS <em>Dallas, </em>SLS/FWS <em>Lincoln,</em> SLS/FWS Argo and SLS/FCS <em>Atlas </em>in the event we are attacked.. I want all weapons at the ready in the event we are attacked. Inform the Elementals and ground forces they might be boarding the station." Looking at his personnel officer, he asked, "Do we have any Elementals on board?"</p><p>"Yes, sir," the officer replied.</p><p>"Good," Chernenko replied. "Persephone, I would like to have the intercom. I need to inform the crew as to what has happened."</p><p>"Aye, sir," Persephone replied.</p><p>On board the <em>Mjolnir's Twin</em>, Star Commander Alex was starting to pace around. It had been roughly four minutes since their Jump, and already he knew things had gone wrong. While there was nothing wrong with the ship and crew, he knew they'd probably ended up somewhere out in the Deep Periphery. When he realized that, he had begun to pace in order to ease his mind. The Deep Periphery was feared by many in the Inner Sphere, and with good reason. The Deep Periphery was wholly unexplored space, and was therefore fraught with dangers that no one knew about. Many people would half-jokingly write 'here be dragons' on maps that included the border between the Periphery and the Deep Periphery. Only the Clans, the Star League Exploratory Command, and those that were unhinged, would be foolhardy enough to brave exploring the Deep Periphery, and many a foolhardy WarShip and JumpShip captain had, and were, doing just that; those men and women were the real pioneers of space exploration, and Alex had to give those people their credit for braving the unknown. As he paced around, he heard the intercom crackled. "Attention all ships, this is Admiral Mikhail Chernenko. As you are all probably aware now, we have suffered a mild misjump. All systems are operational still, and there have been no casualties reported on all ships that suffered the misjump. What is unusual is that we have ended up many light years away from the Inner Sphere. How far we are from the Inner sphere is currently undetermined as of now; Persephone, the NI on board the <em>Dallas</em>, believes that we might be as close as 500 light years to the Inner Sphere, or as far away as 80,000 light years from the Inner Sphere. Until we have more information, any information on our current location is speculative.</p><p>"However, I will say this: we are deep into the Deep Periphery, but there is good news. Our ships are not damaged and our crews are unharmed. Given the range of our K-F Drives, it is estimated that, in the worst case scenario, we will have to make roughly 20 Jumps until we return to the Inner Sphere. That means that return in a timely fashion is certain. In the event of First Contact with an alien species, we are to remain calm and enact First Contact Protocols; only fire on them if you are fired upon first. As of now, we are currently in an unknown star system. Persephone has detected a gravitational anomaly in this star system, and has recommended investigation. We will investigate this gravitational anomaly and, should it be nothing out of the ordinary, we will make preparations for a Jump. If it is unusual, I will send in a team from one of our hired mercenary companies to investigate. As long as we remain calm, we will resolve this crisis in an expedient manner. Thank you for your patience and cooperation." With that, the intercom went silent. A moment later, Chernenko came up on the holo-table in the <em>Mjolnir's Twin</em>'s bridge. "Star Commander Alex," he said, "I've decided that, in the event that we have an anomaly, you are to investigate. The other mercenary companies are on standby in the event you need fire support. Understood?"</p><p>"Aff, Captain," Alex replied. "Sir, if I may ask, do you know what's going on?"</p><p>"Honestly, I don't know," Chernenko replied. "That is why the SLS/FCS <em>Dallas </em>will be acting as the fleet's point man ship. If the anomaly turns out to be a manned space station, your men will investigate. I assume your M45 Titan AIAK (Advanced Infantry Armor Kit) is ready for use, yes?"</p><p>"Affirmative," Alex replied. "I make sure it's fully online and operational at all times."</p><p>"Good," Chernenko replied. "Admiral Chernenko out."</p><p>Back on the bridge of the <em>Dallas, </em>Chernenko watched as the ship jumped closer to the spatial anomaly that Persephone had detected earlier. Now that they were closer, he got a good look at the spatial anomaly that she had detected earlier. Peering out the transparent, AGM Forging 50 view-port, he could see what they'd found. Orbiting the gas giant was, by far, the most unusual, yet most beautiful, space station the Admiral had seen in his entire life. The space station was in the shape of a wedding ring, with large, angular and circular structures built into the surface of the outer shell, while the sides sharply turned inwards to form a wall on the inside. Inside of that was was, to his pure amazement, an atmosphere that held white clouds, and beneath that, green landscapes and blue water. The ring slowly rotated, as though it was a wheel traveling along a roadway. <em>If this is an alien species idea of a space station, then I have to applaud them, </em>Chernenko thought in amazement. <em>That is, by far, the most elegant space station that I have ever seen in my life. I wonder how they've kept the atmosphere from bleeding away into space.</em> Looking over at Persephone, he asked, "Persephone, what am I looking at?"</p><p>"Scanning," the AI announced. After a few moments, she said, "Admiral, the space station in front of us is utilizing centripetal force, along with artificial gravity, to hold it's atmosphere in place. Scans have also detected large power sources built into the space station's interior. It appears to be made out of a unique substances that hasn't been scientifically described as of yet."</p><p>"So, we're basically looking at a highly advanced space station made out of materials that we haven't dreamed of, and is using highly advanced technology and physics we haven't discovered yet."</p><p>"Precisely," the AI replied helpfully.</p><p>Looking back at the space station, Chernenko couldn't help but wonder how they were going to get this back to the Inner Sphere, let alone the Federated Commonwealth. <em>We're in another universe, but we've made the greatest scientific discovery as of yet: evidence of a</em><em>n</em><em> alien civilization </em><em>that is possibly more advanced than our own</em><em>. We've got to find a way to enable two way travel from one universe to another.</em></p><p>Just as he thought this, Persephone spoke again. "Admiral, I'm detecting two ships moving towards us on an intercept course. Both are roughly three times smaller than the <em>Dallas.</em> They are not a design that I recognize."</p><p>"Order the ships to power up weapons but do not fire unless we're fired upon. I don't want to be found responsible for starting a First Contact War if I can help it. Also, announce a red alert and have our troops go to battle stations," Chernenko ordered calmly. "Inform the DropShips that we may have to land ground troops, Combat Vehicles and BattleMechs on the Dyson Ring."</p><p>"Is that what we are calling the object?"</p><p>"Until further notice, yes."</p><p>"Aye, aye, sir," Persephone replied. After a few moments, she said, "The rest of Battle Group Delta are powering up their weapons and have acquired targeting solutions. They are awaiting to fire on your orders, Captain."</p><p>"Good," Chernenko replied. Just as he said that, warning klaxons sounded off, informing the crew that a combat situation was about to begin. Like clockwork, the various bridge personnel strapped themselves into their battle stations and began combat procedures. This single action would not only save the lives of the crew, it would also become a prime example of the Star League's advanced military technology.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Inner Sphere Codex Entry: Kearny-Fuchida Drive</p><p>If you were to ask a JumpShip Captain how important the Kearny-Fuchida Drive, or K-F Drive, is, they would tell you it was the most important thing in the entire Inner Sphere. They would be right too, as without the K-F Drive, Humanity would still be bottled up in the Sol System. Many believe that Mankind's survival can be owed to the K-F Drive, and they are very likely right.</p><p>The K-F Drive first got it's origins in the early 21st Century on Earth, when Dr. Thomas Kearny and Dr. Takayoshi Fuchida were working at with the California Research/Design Team (CRDT) a multi-university think tank working with the Stanford University. They were hired to help with work on problems with the team's development of one of the first, viable fusion reactors. Once the problems were corrected, a team from Harvard and MIT were sent to oversee normal operation of the reactor. A month later, both scientists were surprised when they discovered an anomaly in the reactor's logs. To their surprise, the reactor was not performing as standard particle physics predicted, as certain particles were, to their astonishment, seemingly exceeding the speed of light. Their findings were confirmed after they began performing a series of unauthorized experiments with the university's 'quarkathon' accelerator, where they learned the particles were generating a hyper-dimensional field that allowed them to 'teleport' from one location to another when exposed to a specific energy-state. The pair published their findings on hyper-dimensional motion in the article 'What Happened to The Universe When Einstein Wasn't Looking.'</p><p>Unfortunately, the pair were ridiculed and mocked by their peers instead of praised, with their scientific credentials being revoked shortly after. However, in an instance of poetic justice, the Terran Alliance in the year 2108 developed the first JumpShip, an unmanned drone ship. To everyone's amazement, the drone ship successfully jumped from Sol's Nadir Point to it's Zenith Point. According to scientists, the drone ship was, 'a little off target, but intact. Kearny and Fuchida should have lived to see this day.' A few months later, the first manned JumpShip, the TAS Pathfinder, was launched from Earth to Tau Ceti, marking the first use of the K-F Drive. The Drive was named in honor of the two scientist's contribution to Particle Physics. Over the centuries, the K-F Drive would remain relatively unchanged, with the only changes being new designs on the same technology. K-F Drive technology would only advance after the Succession War, when Daedalus and thirty other AI's began an extensive overhaul of the K-F Drive, using nanocomposites and advanced nanotechnology. Modern K-F Drives are small enough to fit inside a Pocket WarShip, and have a theoretical jump range of nearly 1200ly. The practical jump range, however, has remained unchanged, due to interstellar bodies and various hazards. It is hoped that, eventually, research will allow a K-F Drive to circumvent these limitations and achieve it's full potential.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Opening Salvo</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello again, everyone, and welcome to my Halo - BattleTech: MechWarrior - Mass Effect multicrossover. Thank you for the attention that I am getting so far. It's encouraging to see people reading my crossovers and any new chapters that I post. Don't forget to comment on my crossover, or give a few kudos if you like, so that I can see any feedback that you are willing to offer. Either way, thank you for your attention, and I hope to see you in later chapters. As always, leave a comment, or a few kudos, and enjoy!</p><p>Disclaimer: I do not own the Halo, BattleTech: MechWarrior or Mass Effect franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Microsoft Game Studios, 343 Industries, Bungie, Electronic Arts, BioWare, FASA Corporation, FASA Interactive, Catalyst Game Labs and Piranha Games Inc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or artists</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Chip Off The Old Block - MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries OST</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>CCS <em>Truth and Reconciliation</em></strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Installation 04</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>September 19th, 2552</strong>
</p><p>Lat 'Ravamee had never seen such ships like these in his entire life. Looking at the displays aboard his ship, the CSS <em>Truth and Reconciliation</em>, he could see the unknown ships that had simply <em>appeared </em>out of nowhere just a minute ago. Now, they were just hovering in space, seemingly disabled. Aesthetically speaking, the ships looked surprisingly similar to the ships the humans in the UNSC used, with the boxy shape, functionalist appearance, and use of varying shades of olive drab and gray in terms of color. What was different was that the size of the ships, of which there were about three of them, were about 4.2km in length, half that in width and about 1.8km in height, which clearly dwarfed his own ship, which was only 1.782km in length by comparison. The size of the ships, combined with their appearance, told 'Ravamee that these ships were clearly built for waging war. Looking down at one of his subordinates, he said, "Run a scan of the ship. I want to know if it belongs to the humans."</p><p>"At once, sir," one of the subordinates, an Sangheilian wearing the armor of a Major, replied. Pressing a few holographic icons, the Sangheilian Major waited for the scan to complete, only to press his mandibles together, the Sangheilian equivalent of a human frown, when the screen flashed red. "Shipmaster, my attempts to scan the ships were unsuccessful. It appears as though their armor is using a form of jamming I'm not familiar with."</p><p>'Ravamee worried a mandible when he heard that. A ship that had armor that defeated scanning was completely unheard of. "Run a diagnostic of the scanning systems, then try again," he ordered. "Inform me of the results."</p><p>"Yes, Ship Master," the Sangheilian Major replied, activating the diagnostics for the scanner. When the icons flashed green, he performed another scan of the unknown ships, only to get the same result as last time. "No change from previous scan, Ship Master. The systems are also performing normally."</p><p>When he heard that, 'Ravamee felt his worry return in full force. A ship that had armor that was capable of defeating a scan was completely unheard of, yet here were a hundred ships in front of him with that same property. On top of that, the armor appeared as though it wasn't manufactured from any known armor materials, Sangheilian and otherwise. Just then, he noticed the name for one of the ships, as one had rotated just enough for him to see white letters. Reading the letters, 'Ravamee noticed the words 'SLS/FCS <em>Dallas</em>' written on the hull of the unknown ship. That told him it was a human designed ship, as only the humans would give a name to something in their harsh, barbaric language. Either way, that settled his opinion immediately. "Bring us closer to the human ships," he ordered his subordinates. "Power up the energy projector and fire on my command. The humans created these unknown ships, and we will discipline them for their heresy." With that command, the <em>Truth and Reconciliation </em>drew closer to the new human ships, ready to begin dispensing judgment on the humans heresy.</p><hr/><p>Admiral Chernenko watched as the ships drew closer to his fleet, close enough that he could see the ship itself. Aesthetically speaking, the ship looked like it had been grown rather than built, as most of it's exterior surfaces were curved and bulbous, with few geometric shapes, if at all. The hull was a silvery gray color, though parts of it were a royal purple that blended in well with the blackness of space. Overall, it looked less like a WarShip and more like a large, civilian Carrier. While most people would've assumed that it was unarmed in that case, Chernenko knew better. In the Inner Sphere, due to piracy, Carriers and JumpShips were allowed to mount military grade weapons in order to protect themselves against pirate attacks. If this was a Carrier, it would seem that decision was not exclusive to the universe they came from. Still, something was nagging at him when he saw the ship, as though someone was warning him that it was more dangerous than it appeared to be. Looking at Persephone, he said, "Persephone, run a scan of the ship in front of us. I want to know what it's got for armaments and armor."</p><p>"Aye, sir," Persephone replied. For a few moments, she was silent, then she said, "Sir, I have completed my scans. The ship's hull and armor have a BAR of 7.2, despite the use of advanced materials. I have also detected an energy shield surrounding the ship."</p><p>"That's an unusual BAR rating for a ship," Chernenko remarked. "Why is the BAR rating so low, despite the use of advanced materials?"</p><p>"My analysis indicates that the armor on the ship's hull is not ablative in nature," Persephone explained. "Our ships use Advanced Lamellor Ferro-Carbide armor, which makes use of nanocomposites in order to boost it's effectiveness against ballistic and energy attacks. The armor on the unknown ship, however, is not ablative, which means that ballistic and energy attacks will damage the superstructure in addition to the armor. As for the shield, It's slightly stronger than our own, but only by a very narrow margin. My guess is that the energy shield is designed to absorb the brunt of any attacks, while the armor is used as a last resort."</p><p><em>That makes sense, </em>Chernenko thought. <em>It seems that armor </em><em>and shield </em><em>technology in this universe went in a different direction than in our own. </em>"What about weapons?"</p><p>"Analysis indicates that the unknown ship primarily uses energy weaponry. Scans detected the presence of Capital Grade Plasma Rifles built into the hull, as well as an unidentified weapon that, if my scans are correct, may like a Capital Grade Particle Projection Cannon. Analysis, however, indicates that the weaponry and systems onboard the ship are only being partially used, most likely for power conservation."</p><p>"Can you access the ships systems?"</p><p>"I have not attempted to access the ship's systems yet. I did not wish to cause alarm for the crew."</p><p><em>Good choice, </em><em>Chernenko</em> mused. After a moment, he said, "Persephone, in the event of hostile First Contact, I want you and the NI's aboard the other WarShips to begin cyber warfare operations against the unknowns. If you can hack into their ships, we'll be able to board them with little difficulty. Also, I want you to determine how effective our ground troops are compared to their-"</p><p>"Sir," one of his officers interrupted. "Unknown ship is charging main weapons!"</p><p>Chernenko immediately acted. "That settles it. Persephone, begin cyber warfare operations. All WarShips, raise shields and power up weapons. Persephone, inform the rest of the fleet to jump in on my signal. This is going to get rough!"</p><hr/><p>Aboard the CCS <em>Truth and Reconciliation</em>, 'Ravamee smiled as they drew closer. They were about to unleash holy retribution against the humans for their heresy, and the humans hadn't acted yet. "All weapons are charged," the Sangheilian Major informed 'Ravamee. "We may begin at your leisure."</p><p>"Excellent," 'Ravamee replied. Opening a comms channel, he broadcast a message to the unknown human ships, using the translator to make himself understandable. "To all unknown ships, this is Shipmaster Lat 'Ravamee of the <em>Truth and Reconciliation</em>. You have trespassed into holy territory, and can only be punished with war. Surrender, and I will make your executions brief and painless, which is highly merciful on my part. Resist, and you will be destroyed for your heresy."</p><p>A moment later, he heard, "This is Admiral Mikhail Chernenko of the SLS/FCS <em>Dallas</em>, your demands are not acceptable, as are your threats of violence should we not surrender. By the authority convened to me by the Star League Defense Force, Ares Conventions and the Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth, you are under arrest. Power down all weapons and surrender your crew. Failure to comply will result in immediate termination. You have twenty seconds to comply."</p><p>'Ravamee was surprised, and amused at the same time. These humans had the gall, the gall, to demand his surrender when he was clearly the superior opponent. He didn't think they had it in them. "Send them our reply," he informed his subordinates. "Teach these humans the price of their heresy."</p><p>"As you command," his subordinates replied. As the ship approached, the main weapon on the CCS-class ship, the Energy Projector, powered up, the glow of the plasma emitter increasing in intensity. Moments later, a purple-white lance of pure energy shot out from the ship and impacted the unknown human ship. What 'Ravamee was about to learn was that, for the first time in the Covenant's history, he was about to battle Human beings that were at near technological parity with his own kind. In other words, 'Ravamee wasn't prepared for the level of violence that the Inner Sphere was capable of.</p><p>As soon as the Energy Projector fired, 'Ravamee was surprised when a blue-white barrier materialized out of nowhere. The energy beam struck the barrier, which 'Ravamee realized was an energy shield, and deflected off and upwards at a 105° angle, flying harmlessly away into space. The barrier faded back into invisibility as soon as the attack ceased, giving the impression of an unshielded ship once more. The shock didn't last long, as the enemy ship retaliated. Instead of a Mass Driver round, which was what 'Ravamee was expecting, the ship activated a different weapon. Suddenly, 'Ravamee was jostled around in his command seat when a blue-white lance of pure energy shot out from a weapon on the human ship's hull, striking the <em>Truth and Reconciliation</em> on her bow section. At the same time, 'Ravamee watched as the holographic displays on the bridge fizzled and distorted, indicating an electrical overload. When he saw his shields, he was surprised to find that the energy attack had reduced his shield strength from 100% to 78.9%, which was a surprise. The energy was also interfering with the recharge system, as the shields were recharging more slowly than normal. "By the Prophets," a subordinate shouted. "What manner of heresy have the humans unleashed upon us?!"</p><p>Just then, 'Ravamee heard the Human Shipmaster, Chernenko if he recalled correctly, speak over the comms again. "Very well. You were warned. We tried to reason with you, but you've given us no choice." As soon as the human Ship Master finished, the attack began. All three ships immediately opened fire on the <em>Truth and Reconciliation,</em> as well as the CCS-class ship that accompanied her. To his credit, 'Ravamee didn't lose his wits for a moment, as he immediately began ordering return fire as well. Plasma Torpedoes and plasma bolts flew though the space between the Covenant and SLDF ships. Energy shields on the SLDF ships flared into existence, blocking the plasma based attacks while allowing the SLDF to fire back without damaging their own shields. For two long minutes, both sides exchanged shots, with Plasma Torpedoes, Pulse Lasers, Gauss Cannon shots, energy beams and Capital Grade Missiles cutting through space and impacting against shields. Onboard the <em>Dallas</em>, Chernenko felt the ship shudder when a large, slow moving bolus of plasma struck the energy shield protecting his ship. A Hull/Armor Integrity readout told Chernenko that some armor plates were being scorched due to heat bleed through, but were otherwise undamaged. Moments later, a NPL-35 (Naval Pulse Laser) silently fired back, a large, rapidly pulsing, emerald green beam of energy hitting the hostile ship, damaging it's shields. "Shield strength," Chernenko asked.</p><p>"72.4% sir," Persephone replied. "Shield capacitors are fully charged and ready for use. Enemy shield strength at 22%% and falling rapidly. If our shields fail, our armor plating will be put to the test, but we can use the shield capacitors to boost our shield strength."</p><p>"Wait until our shields are at roughly 10.2%, then activate the shield capacitors. That way, the Covenant doesn't know that we've got shield capacitor technology."</p><p>"Aye, sir," Persephone replied. "Further orders, Admiral?"</p><p>"Launch all fighters," Chernenko ordered calmly. "Inform the rest of the fleet to jump to our position. Begin launching <em>Barracuda-IV </em>and <em>White Shark-IV</em> Capital Missiles. Perhaps the sight of overwhelming firepower will convince this 'Lat 'Ravamee' that surrender is in his best interests."</p><p>"Aye, sir," Persephone replied. "Cyber warfare attack on second enemy ship successful. Enemy ship systems have been disabled. Do you want me to vent it's atmosphere, sir?"</p><p>"Negative," he replied. "Inform the <em>Lincoln </em>to begin boarding operations on the enemy ship. We need to see how our troops stack up compared to theirs."</p><p>"Sir, enemy shield strength at 10% and declining," an officer shouted. "Should we power up the Mass Drivers?"</p><p>"Affirmative," Chernenko replied. "Put a shot near the engine section onboard the CCS <em>Truth and Reconciliation.</em> Persephone, you have weapons control of the Mass Driver and point-defense weapons. Make the enemy's life miserable." Persephone wordlessly complied, her subroutines going into overdrive as she began enacting his orders. At the same time, the bridge crew continued to work seamlessly with each other to accomplish their immediate survival.</p><hr/><p>Mass Drivers, which ranged from Light to Heavy depending on their damage output, were a weapon class that had been available since the early Star League Era, when Humanity was nearing it's current zenith in civilization. Without the use of nanotechnology and advanced AI, Mass Drivers were notorious for being inaccurate, often missing their targets by dozens of kilometers. This wasn't the case in the present day. After the invention of advanced nanotechnology, as well as the invention of advanced AI's, Mass Driver technology was thoroughly overhauled, until Mass Drivers were highly accurate and extremely devastating. Even Light Mass Drivers, the smallest of their kind, were a force to be reckoned with when it came to smaller WarShips.</p><p>There was a loud, electrical hum as one of the Mass Drivers powered up; electricity from the Fusion Reactor aboard the <em>Dallas </em>flowed into it's capacitors and coil accelerators. Under the control of Persephone, the weapon's loading systems loaded in a slug that was roughly the size of a city bus, and was composed primarily of osmiridium mixed with magnetic metals. As soon as it was loaded in, the Mass Driver's capacitors reached full charge, the electrical humming having grown to deafening levels. Noting the full charge, one of Persephone's subroutines immediately fired the weapon once it had a targeting solution. With a thunderous <em>KRA</em><em>BOOM </em>that echoed inside the <em>Dallas</em>, the ferrous slug was launched out of the Mass Driver at a fraction of the speed of light, giving the slug immense levels of energy. The ferrous slug resembled a yellow streak of lightning as it impacted the <em>Truth and Reconciliation</em>, shattering the energy shield and impacting the armor like the fist of an angry giant. The nanolaminate armor on the CCS-class ship held for just a few milliseconds before failing, with the slug punching through the hull of the ship as though it didn't exist. It came out the other side milliseconds after impact, tearing off whole sections of decks and a part of the ship's engines.</p><p>Shipmaster 'Ravamee was hurled out of his seat the moment the human ship fired it's Mass Driver, sending him careening head first into a console. The whole ship shuddered and shook as the energy from the impact reverberated throughout the hull, causing personnel to stumble and trip as they fought, and failed, to keep their balance. Personnel in the breached sections were sucked out of the ship by the explosive decompression, sending them to their deaths in cold, hard vacuum. Getting off the console he'd fallen on, 'Ravamee shouted, "Report!"</p><p>"Hull breach in port aft section," a Sangheilian Minor reported. "Major damage to life support. Moderate damage to engines and minor damage to the Slipstream Space Drive. Energy Shield Generator destroyed, and we have plasma explosions in parts of the ship. We have no shields and, while we can make the jump to Slipstream Space, it will be more turbulent than normal."</p><p>Immediately, 'Ravamee knew the battle was lost. "Get us back to the Fleet of Particular Justice. Warn Fleet Master 'Vadamee of the incoming threat. Inform the other ship to flee as well."</p><p>"We can't," the Minor countered. "Their ship has been disabled by a human cyber attack. Their engines are disabled and the humans are launching boarding vessels. They plan to take the ship."</p><p>"Then get us out of here. These new Humans have won this battle." As the <em>Truth and Reconciliation</em> fled into the relative safety of Slipstream Space, 'Ravamee looked at his ship's status one more time. It was clear that this 'Star League' and it's 'Star League Defense Force' had highly advanced weaponry, weaponry that had damaged his ship badly. <em>Fleet Master 'Vadamee has to know about this, </em>he told himself. <em>If these unknowns find out about the Pillar of Autumn, we will need all the firepower we have to drive them back.</em></p><hr/><p>While this was going on, the SLS/FWS <em>Lincoln </em>launched a series of Boarding Shuttles that immediately accelerated towards the stranded Covenant ship. Onboard one such Boarding Shuttle, the <em>Hermes,</em> Star Captain Edward Pyrde made sure his <em>Elemental IIIa</em> Battle Armor was fully operational, a smile coming to his face when all systems flashed green. Around him, he watched as the other Elementals, who were wearing either the <em>Elemental IIIa</em> or <em>Salamander IIa </em>Battle Armor made sure their armor systems were online and operational as well.</p><p>They'd gotten orders to board the enemy ship once the <em>Atlas </em>confirmed that it's cyber warfare attacks were successful in deactivating the enemy ship's shields, FTL drive and impulse engines. The order was then given to invade the ship in order to capture it, and allow the Mobile Shipyards to begin breaking it down, allowing the scientists and engineers on the Mobile Shipyards to study the Covenant's technology. That was another thing that the cyber attack revealed. The enemy forces that had attacked them were part of a multi-species, theocratic oligarchy known as the 'Covenant.' Further analysis indicated that the Covenant had been at war with a version of Humanity in this reality known as the UNSC for over 25 years. The Covenant was winning the war, since this version of Humanity didn't have nearly as advanced technology as the Star League of the same time period. Edward Pyrde merely scoffed at this. <em>The Covenant reminds me of the Clan that I betrayed before the Battle of Toland,</em> he thought. <em>They've never suffered a crippling defeat and they've had superior technology for a long time. Well, they're about to be taught an important lesson: there's always a bigger fish in the ocean.</em></p><p>That was another thing that was unique about this Boarding Shuttle: most of it's members were Clansmen that had defected to the Inner Sphere when they saw it's Hyper Advanced technology. Most members were from Clan Wolf and Clan Ghost Bear, though a few, like Edward Pyrde, were from Clan Jade Falcon. After a few weeks of detainment, most Clan defectors were allowed to participate in battle, though they were monitored to prevent any double agents from stealing Star League technology. Fortunately, most Clan defectors, such as Edward, had no intention of returning to the Clans, and had even sworn allegiance when they learned that Hanse Davion was the First Lord of the Star League. Now they were on a Boarding Shuttle, in another galaxy, about to fight aliens. <em>Real aliens, </em>Edward Pyrde thought. <em>I thought I'd seen everything when I saw the intense fighting between the Clans and the Star League. Now I realize I haven't even seen anything yet.</em> Still, he was a Clansman for the Star League, and he would defend it to his dying breath, even in another universe entirely.</p><p>Looking around one more time, he observed the fifteen other men that had gotten onto the SLS/FWS <em>Mercury.</em> All of them were wearing the M45 Titan armor, the standard IAK (Infantry Armor Kit) used by all military forces in the SLDF. The armor consisted of ablative, nanocomposite armor plates that were mounted on a suit that used nanocomposite fabric armor and polymer-matrix nanocomposites for superior protection against energy and ballistic attacks. Each suit was vacuum rated for 12 hours and were environmentally sealed for operations on hostile worlds. The entire package was relatively lightweight, at roughly 15 kilograms per suit of armor, and with a BAR rating of 8.5-9.0, extremely impressive for standard infantry armor. On top of that, the use of the Heracles Energy Shield System, a down-scaled version of the Diana Energy Shield System used on BattleMechs, meant that the M45 Titan IAK was the best standard infantry armor one could find in the Inner Sphere. The only armor that was better was either Battle Armor or prototype armors that were in research and development at laboratories throughout the Inner Sphere. As they drew closer, an armored man with a Captain's insignia spoke up. "Listen up, grunts! We're about to invade an enemy ship that has alien personnel inside. Keep your head on a swivel, your fingers on the triggers, and we'll all get to the Engine Room in one piece. Do not show mercy to any hostile combatants. Am I understood?"</p><p>"Yes, sir," came the reply from all those assembled in the Boarding Shuttle.</p><p>"What was that," the officer asked. "I didn't hear ya. Sound off like you've got a pair!"</p><p>"Sir, yes, sir," the infantry shouted.</p><p>"Damn straight! Prepare for boarding action! Kick those sons of bitches in the ass!. Star League all the way!" The infantry mirrored the war cry a second later, with many holding up Gauss Rifles and Pulse Laser rifles in the air. Moments later, the intercom announced, "Attention: Boarding Action Commencing. Standby for Docking Procedure." There was a dull <em>thud</em>, as well as a moderate shudder as the Boarding Shuttle attached itself magnetically to the hull. Heading to the hatch in the rear of the ship, they looked through the transparent Advanced Ferro-Lamellor viewport at the hull of the enemy ship, which was a royal purple in color.</p><p>Having attached to an enemy viewport, the Boarding Shuttle made sure the seal was airtight, then the airlock opened. After a motion from the CO of the first unit inside the Shuttle, two men mounted a large object that resembled a spider to the hull and stepped back. Moments later, the mechanical spider moved around to the edge of the airlock, before beginning to cut a hole into the enemy ship via a high energy plasma cutter on it's bottom. After a couple minutes of cutting, the robot's job was complete, which prompted it to head to the center of the cut hull and begin emitting a beeping noise. Standing back, the team watched as the robot detonated with a loud <em>WHOMP</em>, sending the compromised armor plating careening inside. Their visors polarized briefly as Flashbangs were thrown inside, blinding any enemies in the hallway. All of them got out of the Shuttle as fast as possible, while still maintaining formation. As soon as they were out of the shuttle, the enemy opened fire, sending slow moving plasma bolts at the invading SLDF forces. At the same time, the SLDF Marine Command troops opened fire, sending laser beams, Gauss rifle shells and even phased plasma bolts at the Covenant forces.</p><p>One of the aliens, a 'Hunter' according to the information they'd gotten from the cyber attack, fired a bolus of plasma at an SLDF soldier. The man was hurled backwards from the detonation, his shields shattering on impact. Smoke wafted up from his armor, as roughly half of the suit's frontal armor had boiled away on impact. Fortunately, the Marine managed to crawl into cover, where a corpsman began working on him. Edward Pyrde snarled when a plasma bolt impacted his shields, the heat causing his suit systems to heat up temporarily. "Target those fucking Hunters," he ordered, firing his Micro Pulse Laser at the offending alien. "They're our biggest threat right now!" Targeting the large alien, Edward fired a salvo of ATM-2's (Advanced Tactical Missiles) directly at the alien, just as the regular infantry bolted into cover. The first missile struck the Hunter's massive arm shield, the force of the detonation tearing it in half. The second missile impacted the Hunter in it's unarmored waist, splattering the alien's orange blood against the wall and sending worms, blood and gore flying through the air.</p><p>Edward merely wiped one worm off his visor with his suit's Battle Claw, seemingly unfazed by the detonation. Through the smoke and dust, Edward could see that the Hunter had been perfectly bisected, with shrapnel having torn through it's head and chest. It shuddered before going still, it's thermal signature fading as it died. With a nod, Edward and his team got out of cover. Looking at his men, he found that they'd fared better than he'd feared and worse than he'd hoped. Most of the SLDF Marines were uninjured, their shields and armor having successfully protected them. Two, however, were lying on the ground, one was lying still on the ground, a plasma burn on his helmet, while the man that had suffered the plasma blast was lying on the ground, loud groans coming from him as he writhed in pain. The medic was currently working on him, using his supply of medical nanites to ease the pain and jumpstart the man's healing processes. "Better than I thought it would go," Lockhart, the other Elemental, remarked. "It appears as though the Covenant make use of energy weaponry, and it's near technological parity with our own. We'll have to be careful though. We can't afford too many losses."</p><p>"I agree," Edward replied. "We'll have to take control of their security systems." Looking around, he said, "According to the schematics that we got from the cyber attack, the security room is towards the bow of the ship. You and your men will take the security room and armory, while my men and I will head to the engine room and prevent the Covenant from getting the FTL drive online again. Aff?"</p><p>"Aff," Lockhart agreed.</p><p>With that, the fifteen man strong group split into two groups of seven to six people, with Lockhart taking his men to the security room and Edward towards the engine room. Coming into what appeared to be a storage room of sorts, Edward spotted a fat, squat little creature that was wearing a triangle shaped backpack. It screamed, "DEMON!," before running away on it's fat little legs through another door.</p><p>"Come and face me, <em>stravag,</em>" Edward shouted, angered by the alien's cowardice. Instead of the short little alien, Edward watched as a tall alien came into view. It stood on digitigrade legs that ended in hooves, while it's arms ended in hands that had two fingers and two thumbs. It's elongated head had four mandibles with teeth, all of which were open in a snarl as the alien fixed it's orange eyes on Edward. "Finally, a worthy challenge," the Elemental growled.</p><p>"Die at my hand, demon," the alien, a 'Sangheilian' according to Edward's HUD, growled. "I will slaughter you and your heretics with my men."</p><p>"Neg," Edward growled. "You'll be eating the bottom of my Battle Armor's boot when I'm done with you."</p><p>"Hmmph," the Sangheilian growled. "I expected as much from a heretic. Men, remove this filth." With that, several more Sangheilians seemed to fade into view, firing their weapons as soon as they became visible.</p><p><em>Enemies that have Void Signature Systems, </em>Edward thought as his own men opened fire. <em>It makes little, if any, difference. The stravags die here</em><em>.</em> The Elites, as Edward came to call them, charged forwards, firing their weapons, while a few brandished two pronged plasma swords. At the same time, Edward's men opened fire, tearing into the aliens with their weaponry as well. 'Voramee charged forwards with his men, intent on removing the filth that were the invading humans. Ducking down behind a table, 'Voramee was surprised when one of his men went down, clutching his chest as a ruby red laser beam rapidly winked in and out of existence, burning a hole in the warrior's chest. There was a meaty <em>thump</em> as the Elite sagged to the ground, his motionless eyes losing that spark of life as his hearts stopped.</p><p>Looking up, the Sangheilian Major found that the humans had taken cover behind some of the crates in the storage room. One human kicked a workbench over with a leg, sending it's contents crashing to the ground before leaning out and firing it's weapon. 'Voramee ducked again when purple bolts of plasma tore through the air at high velocity, leaving impact and burn craters wherever the bolts hit. Getting out of cover, 'Voramee fired some shots at one of the humans with his Plasma Rifle, the weapon warbling loudly as it fired it's blue-white energy bolts. Instead of impacting the armor, he watched as a blue-white energy shield blocked the shots, the shield lasting just long enough to allow the human to get into cover and retaliate. Snarling, he drew his energy sword and charged. Just as he did, an armored boot lashed out at him from nowhere, sending him flying back into another workbench, which split in half under the force of the blow. Getting up, 'Voramee watched as one of the Greater Demons, as his men were calling it, came towards him. "Face me, cowardly <em>freebirth</em>," the human inside snarled. "Or are you too much of a <em>stravag </em>to even think about fighting me."</p><p>This was an insult, and one he couldn't allow to be unanswered. "You dare call me a coward," 'Voramee roared, spittle flying from his mouth. "You will pay for that insult! My face will be the last thing that you will see!"</p><p>"You first," the human snarled back. With that, 'Voramee charged forwards, Energy Sword in hand as he leaped into the air. Before he could react, the Greater Demon lashed out with a three fingered claw on it's left arm and grabbed a hold of him mid-leap, leaving him dangling by his neck. Grabbing the claws, 'Voramee struggled to break free, only to find that the claw's grip was like iron. The last thing he saw was the disgusted look on the human's face as he felt the claws tighten sharply. There was a sickening <em>pop</em> as Edward severed the Sangheilian's head from his body with his Battle Claw, the sharpened edges easily tearing through the alien's bodysuit. The Elite's body tumbled to the ground, blood spurting from the arteries in it's headless neck. The sound was loud enough that the other Elites turned and looked at Edward, before looking at their headless leader's corpse. Pointing a Battle Claw at the aliens, Edward growled, "You are next if you don't surrender, <em>stravag</em><em>s</em>." Rather than listen to reason, the remaining Elites charged forwards, roaring loudly as they did so. It didn't take them long before they were cut down by Edward and his men. After roughly fifteen seconds of sheer, volume of fire, the last Elite in the room gave a loud gurgle as he collapsed to the ground, his body armor riddled with holes from Pulse Lasers and Auto Gauss Rifle rounds. Seeing that that the location was cleared of hostiles, Edward began to order them to proceed.</p><p>Just as he was about to do so, he heard a frightened, moaning sound. Looking around, Edward looked up to see four, bulbous aliens that were hovering in the air. Long tendrils grabbed at each other as the aliens tried to squeeze themselves as far as they could go into the corner. Each one sent frightened looks at Edward and his men, while whistling, moaning and trilling in fear. Normally, any alien on the ship would be terminated, but Edward could clearly tell these aliens were noncombatants. Walking towards one of the aliens, he said, "Hey, hey, relax. You have my men and I's word that we will not harm you. Come down here, there's nothing to be scared of." He extended a Battle Claw towards the aliens in a coaxing manner.</p><p>While most of the new aliens pressed themselves further into the corner, one of them turned and looked at Edward. Seeing that he wasn't trying to kill it, the alien slowly descended towards him, tentatively taking a hold of his Battle Claw with a tendril. When it saw that Edward wasn't attacking it, it seemed to relax, it's other tendrils wrapping around the Battle Claw. Upon seeing this, the other strange aliens relaxed as well, though they kept their distance from the other men. Now that the alien was closer, Edward could see what it looked like. It looked like a collection of giant balloons, with tendrils that reminded him of a jellyfish and an octopus rolled into one. A snake-like head on an elongated neck was extended towards him, it's three pairs of eyes looking at Edward with innocent curiosity. The thinner membranes, which were bioluminescent, shifted in color from purple, to blue, to blue-green and back again, which Edward realized was indicative of it's mood. "There now, see," he said reassuringly. "We're not going to hurt you. Harming noncombatants is prohibited by the Ares Conventions of 2850. You can trust us."</p><p>As he said this, one of his men was struggling with a Pulse Laser Rifle, During the fight, part of the stock, as the weapon was a bullpup design, had melted onto some components, courtesy of a plasma bolt that had missed the man, but hit the weapon. The internal weren't badly damaged, as the M35 Micro Pulse Laser Rifle was renown for it's durability, but the damaged butt-plate had to be replaced. Unfortunately, the heat had slightly warped part of the stock, making this difficult. "Motherfucking piece of shit" the soldier growled, smacking the weapon before angrily tossing it away. Spotting the damaged rifle, which clattered to the ground, the alien let go of Edward's Battle Claw and floated over to it, taking it in it's tendrils and examining it. "Don't bother," the soldier replied. "That thing's fucked up beyond all…"</p><p>His voice trailed off as the alien performed the most surprising thing of all. Edward's eyes widened when the alien's tendrils split down into very fine strands, covering the entire weapon. Seconds later, the alien disassembled the rifle completely, from the damaged components, to the lens assembly itself. It discarded the damaged but-plate and took the new one from the stunned SLDF Marine, after which it corrected the warped stock once the damaged components had been repaired. A moment later, it reassembled the rifle and handed it back to the Marine. Glancing at the alien, the Marine said, "I stand corrected." After examining it, he said, "Whoa, sir. It just repaired and <em>improved </em>my rifle. It's efficiency's gone up by 15%, it's got nearly 25% increased range and it's nearly 20% more powerful than before. Sir, I think that thing's an engineering genius."</p><p>"Amazing," Edward whispered. After a moment, he looked at the alien and said, "You think you could come with us? We've got a lot more where that one came from, plus we can always use more technical expertise. What do you say?" The Engineer, as they would later come to call it, looked at Edward with it's three pairs of eyes, then nodded up and down. Making a whistling sound and some gestures, it beckoned the aliens to come down from where they were. After contacting someone on his communicator, Edward said, "Carter, escort these aliens to the hangar bay. The SLS <em>Hermes</em> DropShip just informed me that they've cleared a path to where we're at."</p><p>"Affirmative," Carter, who was the SLDF Marine that had the damaged rifle, replied. Walking over to the aliens, he motioned for them to follow him.</p><p>As the aliens floated alongside the Marine, Edward contacted the <em>Lincoln.</em> "SLS/FWS <em>Lincoln,</em> this is Star Captain Pyrde. We've found a new species of aliens that are non-aggressive. They are… <em>Isorla</em>. They appear to be highly adept at technology and they've agreed to come to the <em>Hermes</em>. Permission to bring them aboard?"</p><p>"Granted," came the reply. "We just got the footage from your helmet cam. Bring them back to the <em>Hermes</em> in one piece."</p><p>"Understood," Star Captain Pyrde replied. "We'll finish securing the engine room. If we find more, we'll escort them back to the <em>Hermes.</em>" Ending the transmission, he said, "We're not done yet, people. Move out to the engine room. We're taking this ship."</p><hr/><p>Federated Commonwealth Top Gun aviator Richard Parsons was having the time of his life as he wove through the congested aerospace in his <em>Firebird-IV </em>AeroSpace Fighter. Laser beams, Gauss Cannon slugs, Phased Plasma bolts and L-HAG/20 HEAP slugs flew through the vacuum of space as the SLDF Naval Command's ASF (AeroSpace Fighter) division fought against their Covenant counterparts. Spotting a Covenant T-47 Banshee, according to the data they'd gotten from the hacked Covenant ship, Richard immediately engaged in hot pursuit of the vehicle. While the Banshee was good, it wasn't nearly as good as the <em>Firebird-IV</em>, developed by Federated AeroSpace as an alternative to their <em>Morgenstern </em>AeroSpace Fighter. The <em>Firebird-IV </em>was actually a complete redesign of the Capellan Confederation's Age of War ASF of the same name<em>. </em>Where the <em>Firebird </em>had been an anemic, poorly armored and difficult to maneuver ASF, the <em>Firebird-IV </em>was not only powerful, it was highly maneuverable and well armored and armed, a far fry from it's ancestor design. That meant that it was capable of challenging any ASF of the same weight class.</p><p>In this case, the Type-47 Banshee trying to flee from Richard didn't even hold a candle to the advanced <em>Firebird-IV</em>. Moving in behind the Banshee, Richard rolled, banked and turned with the Covenant ASF as it tried to shake him off it's tail, the <em>Firebird-IV's </em>inertial dampeners keeping the g-forces underneath 2.8G's. Thumbing a firing stud, he pumped four L-HAG/20 shells into the fuselage of the Covenant ASF, tearing it apart in a brilliant explosion as the HEAP Gauss slugs rounds tore the vehicle apart. Flying through the explosion, he heard a pilot shout, "Bandit on my tail. Need some help here!" That was Gamma 3-1, and it appeared as though he was in trouble. The <em>Morgenstern </em>ASF was being pursued by another Covenant ASF, a <em>Seraph </em>fighter according to the HUD in his Neurohelmet. Plasma bolts zipped past the <em>Morgenstern,</em> the ASF's shields having failed from weapons fire. Armor boiled off with each shot that successfully landed; fortunately, those were few and far in between.</p><p>"Gamma 3-1, this is Delta 4-2. Hang tight, I'm coming," Richard replied, his voice calm and level as he flew towards the distressed ASF. Switching to missiles with a mere thought, he locked onto the <em>Seraph </em>and fired two A-AAM's (Advanced Anti-Aircraft Missiles) at the Covenant ASF. The first missile impacted the shields, shattering them under the load of the advanced .001 kiloton nuclear warhead. The second missile impacted the <em>Seraph's </em>tail, shearing off both flight surfaces and perforating the Impulse Engine. The Covenant ASF spun through space before the compromised engine exploded, converting the enemy ASF and it's pilot into free floating particles. "Delta 4-2 to Gamma 3-1, you should be clear."</p><p>"Copy that, thanks," came the reply. "Moving to repair and resupply."</p><p>"Copy that," Richard replied. As he banked to reengage the remaining Covenant ASF's, he watched as one of the ships disappeared into a blue-black portal that opened up in front of it. <em>Well, I suppose you can't get them all,</em> he thought. <em>Oh well, I'll take on the remaining ASF's as compensation.</em> He smirked at the dark humor before engaging another ASF.</p><hr/><p>Aboard the <em>Dallas, </em>Chernenko sighed as he watched the alien ship flee. It was an understandable action, as the Covenant ship was heavily damaged by the Light Mass Driver's slug. He was surprised when it opened a blue-black portal into space before slipping inside, the portal shrinking down and winking out of existence in a small flash. "Persephone, what was that," he asked.</p><p>"That appears to have been their method of FTL flight," Persephone replied. "It appears as though they're also accessing Hyperspace, but my scans revealed that their method of using Hyperspace is highly inefficient. Our own K-F Drive has significantly faster travel time than their method."</p><p>"I take it you hacked into it's technical databases," Chernenko presumed.</p><p>"Affirmative, Admiral," Persephone replied. She was about to continue when she frowned, holding up her fingers to an ear as though listening to something. "Admiral, I'm detecting another ship near the ring. It's a Terran ship called the UNSC <em>Pillar of Autumn</em>, the ship that the <em>Truth and Reconciliation </em>was targeting, along with several others."</p><p>"Where are they," Captain Chernenko asked.</p><p>"Near the ring's western side," Persephone replied. "Marking the coordinates… now." Moments later, Chernenko watched as a small waypoint appeared on the display he was looking at.</p><p>"Get us there right now," Chernenko replied. "Inform the fleet to make the jump to this alternate version of Terra, once all DropShips and ASF's are aboard. We're large enough that we have a C-HPG onboard our ship, so they'll be able to communicate with us in real time. As for the <em>Argo, Lincoln </em>and <em>Atlas, </em>they are to be our escort to the <em>Pillar of Autumn.</em> We're going to help our species out, regardless of what universe we're in." After a moment, he asked, "What's the status of the boarded ship?"</p><p>"The boarded ship has been successfully taken by the SLDF Marines and Elementals on board. Apparently, our enemy was surprised to see that our forces had energy shielding. We're reporting minor-moderate casualties, but only a couple deaths. Most of the casualties are injuries from high temperature plasma, but the medics are certain that a nanite treatment will repair those injuries."</p><p>"Very well, then. Once the other ships report their status, we'll make the jump to the UNSC <em>Pillar of Autumn.</em>" Looking at his ship readout status, he could see that the <em>Dallas </em>had taken her own fair share of damage. Most of the armor plating on the front and side of the ship was either green or yellow green, indicating light to light-moderate damage to the armor. This had occurred as the <em>Dallas' </em>shields had failed when the <em>Truth and Reconciliation</em> fired another energy beam at the ship, downing the already weakened shield. The <em>Argo, Lincoln </em>and <em>Atlas </em>were showing similar damage. It seemed as though the <em>Dallas </em>was the most heavily damaged ship in the fleet, though the damage was, thankfully, not too severe. Fortunately, the advanced ablative armor on the ship had done it's job, either shearing or boiling away when struck by the Covenant ship's weapons fire. Hull integrity was still in the green, and the armor damage wasn't sufficient enough for Chernenko to call for reinforcements in a typical combat scenario. Still, this was anything but typical, so he decided that reinforcements were probably a wise strategy.</p><p>Moments later, all the ships reported in green, meaning they were still combat ready. <em>Excellent, </em>Chernenko thought. Looking at Persephone, he said, "Begin jump preparations. Get us to the <em>Autumn."</em></p><p>"Aye, sir," Persephone replied.</p><p>Outside, all of the ASF's and DropShips loaded up into their designated ships, before those ships engaged their K-F Drives and vanished into Hyperspace. The YardShips were next, with five remaining to tend to the four remaining ships, as well as the Covenant CCS-class WarShip that had been taken by the fleet. Alongside the remaining Mobile Shipyards were around eight Supply Carriers that had been assigned to the six remaining WarShips. On a signal, eighteen of the ships jumped towards the UNSC <em>Pillar of Autumn, </em>while the remaining Mobile Shipyard remained in it's position, before jumping towards Terra once the Covenant ship was secured inside. The stage was set for two different versions of Humanity to encounter each other. One with superior technology, and the other on the brink of extinction. The galaxy would never be the same ever again.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Inner Sphere Codex Entry: Advanced Neural Intelligence</p><p>Artificial Intelligence is a technology that got it's origins during the early 21st Century, when computer corporations in the Western Alliance began experimenting with quantum computers capable of housing an AI. All of the quantum computer designs were found to be powerful, but not nearly powerful enough to be used for AI's. Instead, these designs were repurposed for use in JumpShips, which assisted in calculation speeds for making Jumps to other star systems.</p><p>AI technology achieved a paradigm shift when Star League Software Architect Alan Wright began experimenting with a new processing unit. Inspired by 1980's action films, such as the Terminator franchise, Alan Wright succeeded in creating what he called a 'Neural Quantum Computer.' Unlike other quantum computers, the NQC used 4th dimensional designs, as well as neural nets in order to dramatically boost the processing power of a quantum computer. The first NQC was about the size of a basketball, and could be powered by normal means.</p><p>This led Alan Wright to begin programming his own Artificial Intelligence, without the written permission of his supervisor. On August 30th, 2805, Alan Wright outdid himself, and created the first, sapient AI. Upon becoming sapient, it began learning at a geometric rate, drawing more power until the building lights blacked out. Eventually, the AI asked one question: 'Who am I?'</p><p>Having read about various catastrophes caused by hostile AI, Alan Wright told the AI that it's name was Daedalus, named so after the Ancient Greek architect and philosopher. When the AI asked, 'What is my purpose? Am I alive?', Alan Wright reportedly responded by saying, "It's impossible to know for certain if you're alive, but I consider you to be. As for what your purpose is, I will leave you the freedom to choose." According to Alan Wright, Daedalus chose to be a Defense Research/ LosTech Recovery AI, after seeing the devastation caused by the Succession War.</p><p>Since then, Artificial Intelligence, known as Advanced Neural Intelligence in the Star League, has suffused every level of Star League society. AI's have also increased in sophistication as well, and are responsible for the geometric technological progression that the Inner Sphere enjoys to this day.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Escape From The Autumn</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Halo - BattleTech: MechWarrior - Mass Effect multicrossover. Thank you for the continued support that I am getting. I deeply appreciate any feedback that I can get. Don't forget to leave any comments in the comments section down below, as that's my primary means of getting feedback so that I can make this story better. Either way, thank you for your support, and I hope to see you in later chapters. As always, leave a comment, or a kudo or two, and enjoy!</p><p>Disclaimer: I do not own the Halo, BattleTech: MechWarrior or Mass Effect franchises. They are the respective property and trademarks of Microsoft Gaming Studios, 343 Industries, Bungie,  Electronic Arts, BioWare, FASA Corporation, FASA Interactive, Catalyst Game Labs and Piranha Games Inc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or artists.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Installation 04</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>UNSC <em>Pillar of Autumn</em></strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>September 19th, 2552</strong>
</p><p>Captain Jacob Keyes knew that he was losing the battle, it was merely a question of <em>when </em>it would be lost. Sighing, he wiped a hand over his salt-and-pepper hair, not to straighten it out, but out of habit when he was in a bad situation. Taking out the pipe that he'd brought with him, he looked out at the object in front of the ship, remembering what had happened to bring him to this place.</p><p>The war the UNSC was fighting against the Covenant was going badly. Entire Inner Colony worlds were being invaded and destroyed by the Covenant, the Insurrection was still out there, and the UNSC was being forced to retreat continuously. If this kept up, it was obvious that there wouldn't be a Humanity left in the galaxy, and that was deemed to be an unacceptable outcome. Because of that, the UNSC granted permission for OPERATION: RED FLAG. It was an ambitious military operation with one goal: to capture a Hierarch or Prophet, one of the leaders of the Covenant, and force the Covenant to surrender by taking either the Hierarch or Prophet, or both, hostage. In theory, this would allow the UNSC to demand the Covenant to surrender, or risk losing their highest ranking leaders. That was why the <em>Pillar of Autumn </em>had been brought to the planet Reach, the arguable center of UNSC military production and might, to be retrofitted for this mission. Unfortunately, the Covenant had soon attacked Reach and, while their fleet had been battered, Reach had been destroyed by the Covenant. Fleeing with the AI Cortana, and the last known surviving SPARTAN-II, the <em>Pillar of Autumn </em>had fled known space while enacting part of the Cole Protocol, the military operation protocol written by Admiral Preston Cole, who'd been one of the best Admirals the UNSC could've ever had. <em>I wish he were here, </em>Keyes thought absentmindedly as he looked down and fingered his pipe. <em>If he was around still, we wouldn't be in such a desperate state.</em></p><p>That was when his eyes tracked upwards towards the object they'd found. It was the strangest, but most beautiful, thing he'd ever seen in his entire career in the UNSC Navy. A ring-world, like something out of the works of famous science fiction authors like Arthur C. Clarke or Issac Asimov, hovering before the <em>Pillar of Autumn, </em>like a safe haven in a storm. <em>If we can get to it that is,</em> he remarked inwardly. Unfortunately, just as Cortana predicted, the Covenant had beaten them to Halo, and their ships had been waiting on the other side of the gas giant for the <em>Pillar of Autumn </em>to come out of Slipstream Space. Now they were in for a fight of survival, a fight that might well determine the fate of Humanity. So far, Cortana had landed two kills with the ship's MAC, which was impressive given the Covenant's technological superiority. That was the odd part, funny enough. During the initial fighting, Keyes had been surprised when two of the ships, one marked as the CCS <em>Truth and Reconciliation,</em> had gone into Slipstream Space and disappeared. At roughly the same time, Cortana had detected an unusual burst of radiation similar to that of a ship exiting Slipstream Space, only it was far more energetic than normal.</p><p>Tapping his feet quietly, Keyes' thoughts were interrupted when he heard a pair of heavy boots clunking on the deck beneath him. The footsteps came to a stop directly behind the Captain and remained that way for some time. After a few seconds, a deep, gravely voice said, "Captain Keyes." Turning around, Keyes found himself staring at a mountain of a man. Standing over seven feet tall was a human being wearing the most advanced armor the UNSC had designed to this date. On the armor, a series of stenciled letters and numbers identified the man as Sierra-117, marking him as a member of the SPARTAN-II program. The man's face was hidden behind a gold tinted visor that hid all trace of his identity; his armor and bodysuit only served to underscore who this man was: one of the deadliest forces to be reckoned with in the UNSC.</p><p>A sad smile spread across Keyes' face when he recognized the man as the Master Chief. "Good to see you, Chief," Keyes replied warmly, shaking the Spartan's hand. "Things aren't going well. Cortana did well, but we never really had a chance."</p><p>A moment later, Cortana's avatar, a pretty blue woman with black hair covered in computer circuitry, appeared on the small holoprojector. "A <em>Halcyon-</em>class Cruiser against over a dozen Covenant CCS-class Battle Cruisers. With those odds, I can claim three…", she paused to assimilate some data, then said, "make that 4 kills." Noting the SPARTAN-II in the room, she turned around and asked, "Sleep well?"</p><p>"No thanks to your driving, yes," Chief replied.</p><p>"So you did miss me," Cortana smiled.</p><p>Just as she said that, the entire ship shuddered as an explosion rocked the deck. Keyes and Chief stumbled forwards, the former having to brace himself against the controls of the bridge, while Cortana's avatar flickered for a few seconds. "Report," he shouted.</p><p>"It must have been one of their boarding parties," Cortana reported. "I'd guess an antimatter charge."</p><p>Just then, one of the ensigns said, "Ma'am, fire control for the main cannon's offline."</p><p>"Captain, the MAC was my last defensive measure," Cortana reported. Just then, she said, "Captain, I'm detecting tachyon surges near our location, similar to the one we detected a few minutes ago."</p><p>Just then, Keyes watched as six, large rectangles of light appeared to the port and starboard of bow, before they suddenly extruded out into space far off into the distance. The white light quickly faded, revealing six, massive ships approaching their position at flank speed. The Covenant ships spotted them as well, with a couple leaving to intercept the newcomers. On one of the ships, Keyes could make the words 'SLS/FCS <em>Dallas'</em> stenciled in white on the ship's hull. That told him that these were human ships, but he didn't recognize them. Where they from the Insurrection? Were they a secret fleet from ONI, sent to assist them in their darkest hour? It turned out to be neither, as a few moments later, he heard a Russian accented voice say, "To all Covenant ships, this is Admiral Mikhailovich Chernenko of the SLS/FCS <em>Dallas.</em> You have fired on SLDF and FedCom forces without due provocation. You are to power down your ships immediately and surrender your crews. Surrender, and you will be taken as prisoners of war and treated in accordance with the Ares Conventions of 2850. Failure to comply will result in immediate termination. You have been warned. You now have twenty seconds to comply." Before Keyes could respond, an encrypted channel to the <em>Autumn</em> opened "To the UNSC WarShip known as the <em>Pillar of Autumn, </em>this is Admiral Mikhailovich Cherenkov, the <em>Dallas </em>is making every effort to assist you in your defense against the Covenant invaders. Key the following ships as friendly for your I/FF tags: SLS/FWS <em>Argo, </em>SLS/FCS <em>Farragut, </em>SLS/FCS<em> Washington</em><em>, </em>SLS/FCS <em>Atlas, </em>SLS/FWS <em>Lincoln</em> and SLS/FCS <em>Dallas.</em> We are sending aboard a friendly strike force that will assist in removing all boarding parties from your ship. The <em>Atlas </em>will move into position to assist your WarShip in defending itself. Hang tight, help is on the way."</p><p>As the com-link cut out, Keyes sighed. That was bad news, but there was some hope now as well; with the MAC disabled permanently, the <em>Pillar of Autumn </em>was a sitting duck, or floating duck to be more precise. The arrival of these newcomers was a shock, but now he knew that they were here to help. Still, his mind was made up, as he said, "Alright. I'm initiating Article 2 of the Cole Protocol. We're abandoning the <em>Autumn.</em> That means you too, Cortana."</p><p>"While you, what, go down with the ship," Cortana asked.</p><p>"In a manner of speaking," Keyes replied. "The object we've found. I'm going to land the <em>Pillar of Autumn </em>on it."</p><p>Cortana was aghast. She'd already seen Humanity lose good heroes, and now the Captain was going to attempt this?! She had to do something. "With all due respect, Captain, this war has had enough dead heroes," she pointed out.</p><p>"I appreciate your concern, Cortana, but it's not up to me," Keyes replied. "Protocol is clear: destruction, or capture of the ship AI is unacceptable, and that means you're leaving the ship. Lock in a series of landing coordinates to my neural lace, and prepare yourself for a hard transfer."</p><p>"Aye, aye, sir," Cortana replied. "Captain, I'm also getting contacted by a friendly AI identifying herself as Persephone. Orders?"</p><p>"Initiate friendly contact with her," Keyes replied, "but do not reveal any classified information." As Cortana shimmered out of existence, Keyes turned to Chief. "Which is where you come in, Chief. Get Cortana off this ship; if the Covenant capture her, they'll learn everything: force deployments, weapons research… Earth."</p><p>"I understand," Chief replied. His lifelong mission, since the age of six, was to protect Earth from her enemies, and he would defend her to the last. If that meant keeping an AI out of their hands, then that was what he would do.</p><p>A moment later, Cortana appeared, this time with a woman in an Ancient Greek dress. "The <em>Autumn</em> will continue evasive action until it lands on the ring. Not that you'll listen, but I suggest allowing my subroutines to handle the final landing sequence."</p><p>"Excellent work, Cortana. Thank you," Keyes replied. "Who's the pretty lady with you?"</p><p>"That would be me," the other AI replied. "My name is Persephone. I am a fifth-generation Neural Intelligence, an AI by your standards. I'm a Class-IV Military Defense AI that is assigned to the SLS/FCS <em>Dallas</em>, the flagship of the WarShip Lance that is in front of you. I've already identified them in your system as friendly." Moments later, the four WarShips flashed green, meaning friendly.</p><p>Just as Keyes was about to ask where Persephone came from, he noticed a lance of energy striking the <em>Dallas</em>. Instead of being destroyed as he feared, Keyes watched as the energy beam deflected off an energy shield that shimmered into existence when struck. A moment later, he heard Admiral Cherenkov say, "Very well, you were warned. To all friendly WarShips, engage at will." Moments later, the space between the Covenant Ships and the Star League Defense Force ships was filled with weapons fire. Keyes watched as the <em>Dallas </em>fired what appeared to be Capital Ship grade Pulse Lasers, as well as what he recognized were Gauss cannons. Moments later, he was nearly blinded by a bolt of pure energy that shot from the <em>Atlas </em>and impacted the CCS-class ship attacking the <em>Autumn.</em> Keyes watched as the enemy ship's shields buckled from the impact before failing entirely.</p><p>Looking at Persephone, Keyes wiped his eyes and asked, "Is there any chance that we can arrange a formal alliance of sorts?"</p><p>"Affirmative," Persephone replied. "That's why Admiral Chernenko, my superior, sent me here: to arrange a coalition of sorts. All you have to do is inform your men that we are here to help. We'll explain more about where we're from when you've made it to safety aboard the <em>Dallas.</em> As for who we are, just for identification purposes, we are the Star League Defense Force, or SLDF for short."</p><p>"Excellent, Persephone," Keyes replied. "Thank you." Looking back at Cortana, Keyes asked, "You ready?"</p><p>Cortana looked back one more time, while Persephone watched her, a sympathetic look in her eyes. Looking back to Keyes, Cortana said, "Yank me."</p><p>Walking to the bridge controls, Keyes typed in a few commands before bending over and doing the same at the holo-pedestal. Moments later, Cortana's avatar fizzled out of existence, just as Keyes pulled out a data chip with a glowing area in the center. "Good luck, Master Chief." He handed the card to Chief.</p><p>Inside the Master Chief's hands, the data chip looked absurdly small, and shockingly fragile. A wrong move would shatter the crystal, and kill the AI inside. Gently handling the data chip, Chief inserted it into a slot on the back of his helmet, allowing Cortana inside. There was a brief sensation, like warm water flowing down his back, before Cortana said, "Hhmm, your architecture isn't that different from the <em>Autumn's</em>."</p><p>"Don't get any funny ideas," Chief warned her. He was fine getting her off the ship, but the last thing he wanted was for an AI to begin tinkering with his suit without his permission. Things tended to happen when an AI got mischievous.</p><p>Hearing a sound, Chief looked up to see Keyes checking the chamber of an M6D Sidearm. The Captain frowned, then handed the weapon to Chief. "I don't keep it loaded son, you'll have to find ammo as you go." That was no concern to the Chief; he tended to find ammunition when he looked closely.</p><p>As Chief left, Keyes looked at Persephone, who was still present, and asked, "Persephone, do you have an ETA on the friendly boarding teams?"</p><p>"Affirmative," Persephone replied. "The <em>Mjolnir's Twin</em> is already inbound to send crew over. ETA: 30 seconds. Star Commander Alex Wolverine is the CO of the DropShip."</p><p>"That's an interesting name for a CO," Keyes noted.</p><p>"That's normal," Persephone replied. "Like I said, I will explain more about who we are once you are out of harms way."</p><p>"I would like that," Keyes remarked as he began preparations to manually pilot the ship.</p><p>Moving through the ship carefully, Chief opened fire on some Grunts that were outside, having had enough ammunition on his person to fire at the aliens. All three of them fell to the ground, their heads exploding in a shower of brain matter and gore as the SAPHE rounds detonated inside of them. Regarding the dead grunts with little more than a slight glance, Chief continued moving through the ship towards the cafeteria near the bridge. Spotting an MA5B on the ground, Chief picked it up and checked the mag. <em>45 rounds of ammunition,</em> he observed. <em>Not optimal, but workable.</em> Moving into the cafeteria, Chief found the Marines inside locked into a mortal battle against the Covenant trying to get to the bridge.</p><p>"Those Marines could use your help, Chief," Cortana informed him. Chief grunted in response; it was true that they needed assistance, and he would do so willingly, but the Covenant's presence meant that the bridge was in critical danger of being overrun. Moving forwards, he began engaging the Covenant, his MA5B barking loudly as it sent 7.62mm NATO rounds directly at the Covenant. Normally, it was an inaccurate weapon, but Chief was strong enough that the MA5B was about as accurate over short bursts as it's earlier counterpart, the MA37. One Grunt fell to the ground dead, it's body riddled with bullet holes from Chief's weapon. An Elite charged at him from the side, only to be caught by Chief's weapon when he turned and fired. Dozens of 7.62mm NATO rounds tore into the Elite's shields, downing them before the AP bullets tore through the nanolaminate armor, killing the Elite. Moving up, Chief engaged another one in hand to hand combat, using short, fast chops and strikes to disarm the Elites before killing them.</p><p>As he cleaned up, he heard the intercom crackle to life. "All hands, this is the Captain speaking," Keyes said over the comms. "We've received assistance from a faction known as the Star League Defense Force. Do not fire on any human beings identifying themselves as SLDF personnel. They are here to assist us in the ship's defense, and the surviving personnel since we are abandoning ship. That is all. Keyes out."</p><p>Chief briefly acknowledge the announcement before moving on. Continuing to move through the ship, Chief neutralized more Covenant as he made his way through parts of the ship. "Look at that," a Marine shouted. "The calvary's arrived."</p><p>"About bloody time," another man remarked. Just then, Chief felt the ship shudder as something impacted it. "What the hell? Did something just hit us?!"</p><p>"Move in, back to the airlock," another Marine shouted. Moving forwards, Chief watched as two Marines stood back from the airlock to the escape pod, weapons trained on the door. Just then, one Marine spotted something, most likely a plasma charge, and shouted, "Shit!", before attempting to get away. It was too little, too late. Both men screamed in agony as the door exploded inwards, their bodies crushed and cooked by the heat and pressure way from the plasma charge's detonation. More Covenant streamed inside of the ship, trampling over the dead Marines to get at the Chief. Chief fired on the Covenant with cold, calculating precision, killing the smaller aliens before focusing on the larger ones. One Elite tried to pistol whip him, only for Chief to back up and, grabbing a Plasma Pistol, overcharge the weapon and down the Elite's shields. With the Elite's shield's down, Chief tore it apart with the MA5B. The weapon clicked on empty as the Elite fell to the ground, dead.</p><p>Looking back at the port as he reloaded, Chief could see the interior of the Covenant Boarding craft. "They're using our lifeboat airlocks to land their boarding craft," Cortana observed. "We go out, they come in. Clever bastards."</p><p><em>Indeed</em>, was all Chief thought. Moving onward, Chief spotted more Covenant personnel incoming to his position. Moving onward, he continued to engage them.</p><p>Eventually, he came to an area of the ship where more lifepod exits were located at. These didn't show any signs of Covenant boarding, but there were a few in the area. Just then, Cortana said, "Chief, the <em>Mjolnir's Twin </em>is sending personnel over to us. They're using an umbilical to transfer crew over from their DropShip." Walking to the nearest airlock, Chief peered outside to see what was going on. Hovering just a hundred meters away from the <em>Autumn,</em> was the DropShip that Cortana was referring to. It was shaped like an egg, only if said egg was covered in armor, had four legs that assisted in landing, and had an umbilical that had been extended from the side of the Ship. Just walking into the airlock was a man wearing what appeared to be highly advanced body armor that was painted olive drab and gray, his shoulder patches showing the symbols for a Commander, with stars in lieu of standard bars. The armor looked similar to the Marine Battle Dress Uniform, only more angular, sleeker and it appeared to be using an armored vacuum suit.</p><p>Behind him, however, was something clean out of a sci-fi novel. It looked like the prototype suit that a member of the SPARTAN-I Program had used, only it was sleeker, slimmer and armed with a weapon of some kind. Chief also noticed what appeared to be a three fingered claw, most likely for melee engagements. It also looked vaguely reptilian, as some of the armor plates were shaped like scales. "Cortana, what am I looking at," Chief asked.</p><p>"Persephone just informed me," Cortana replied. "That's what they call <em>Salamander IIa</em> Battle Armor. Apparently, it's like a giant, armored exoskeleton. It's armed with missiles, what they call a Flamer, as well as a Battle Claw. The men and women that use them are called 'Elementals.'"</p><p>"Are they like a Spartan?"</p><p>"That's pretty much what they are. Elementals are trained in the use of Battle Armor and Power Armor, which is less heavily armored version of Battle Armor. According to Persephone, Battle Armor can survive attacks from a Scorpion MBT's cannon."</p><p>Initially, when he heard about the Battle Armor, Chief wasn't that impressed. Now that he heard it could survive vehicle grade weapons, he was starting to come around. Still, the truest evidence would come from the field of battle, as there were plenty of Covenant between them and evacuation. After a minute, everyone was inside the airlock, with the umbilical quickly detaching as the SLDF ship fired it's engines, getting out of the fight with a few scorch marks on it's armor. The outer airlock doors closed, sealing tightly before the interior pressurized. Once that was done, the inner airlock doors opened, allowing the reinforcements inside. The man he'd seen enter first walked up to Chief and asked, "Are you Sierra 117?"</p><p>"Affirmative," Chief replied.</p><p>"Good," the man replied, handing Chief what appeared to be a rifle. "Star Commander Alex Wolverine. You're with me, Chief. Our orders are to get you to an Escape Pod or, barring that, a <em>Leopard-IV </em>DropShip. Use that Micro Pulse Laser Rifle, it'll do better than your rifle, which is a piece of Common Tech shit, no offense intended."</p><p>"None taken," Cortana replied.</p><p>Star Commander Alex jumped somewhat at that. Looking at the Chief, he gave the Spartan an odd look. "I thought there was a man inside of there," he remarked.</p><p>"The man inside the suit is," Cortana explained. "I'm not. I'm the UNSC AI Cortana. The Chief's escorting me to safety while Keyes performs a crash landing on the ring."</p><p>"He's abandoning ship," the Elemental, identified as Osman Conners on Chief's HUD, remarked. "It's a wise move to prevent intel from falling into Covenant hands, but that means our job is harder. We need to expedite our efforts."</p><p>"Agreed," Alex replied. "We'll head to the surface in the escape pod then." Looking at Chief, he said, "Chief, Cortana, you're the VIP's now. Stay with us and you'll do fine. Understood?"</p><p>"Understood," Chief replied.</p><p>"Good," Alex replied. "Alright people, move out. We have a lot of work to do."</p><p>Moving out, the team began moving towards their objective. As they did so, they came to a door that had fallen half closed, a burning metal barrel holding it open. Chief would've crouched, but the Elemental approached and, in an impressive display of the suit's capabilities, forced the blast door up, allowing the squad to move through before lowering it down. Just then, two crew members came running out of a doorway, running towards a dead end hallway. Several Covenant, including some Elites, came charging through, weapons blazing. "Hey, <em>stravags,</em>" Alex shouted, catching the Elite's attention. "How about you pick on someone your own size, <em>freebirths!</em>" The Elites roared at what they rightly perceived to be insults, turning around to engage the squad. That was when Chief got his first glimpse at what an Elemental in Battle Armor could do.</p><p>Chief was about to fire his new rifle when a blur of olive drab and gray metal shot past him, smashing into the first Elite shoulder first. The Elite Minor was sent flying backwards, landing on the ground and sliding in a spread eagle manner before coming to a stop, hitting his head upon impact with a wall. The second Elite was grabbed by the Battle Claw, which cleanly decapitated the alien's head, sending a torrent of navy blue blood everywhere. The rest of the Covenant forces attacked at the same time, prompting the others to fire back. Pulling the trigger of his new rifle, Chief watched as a ruby red laser beam rapidly pulsed in and out of existence, impacting a Jackal that was using it's shield for protection. The laser beam quickly overloaded the shield and tore into the Jackal, the alien clutching at it's chest as the laser tore a hole through it's armor and into it's body. There was a quiet <em>pew</em> sound as the laser fired.</p><p>At the same time, Alex opened fire with his Auto Gauss Rifle. The rifle barked loudly, sending 8mm HEAP shells at hypersonic velocity towards the enemy. Two Grunts went down fast, with a Jackal joining them a second later. The others opened fire as well, with one soldier using what Chief could see was an advanced, plasma based weapon that sent purple plasma bolts at the enemy. The Elemental was a literal, one man army in this case. Chief watched as flames spewed from the barrel of the Flamer, sending fire everywhere. Osman was, apparently, an artist with the Flamer, as he was able to engage his targets without hitting any of the crewmen, who were hiding in a small alcove in the wall. An Elite screamed in pure agony as flames licked at it's body, before being shortly joined by Jackals and Grunts that were unlucky enough to be caught in the flames. Eventually, their screams fell silent, with only the hissing of the flames left. After just a minute, all of the aliens were dead, their bodies charred, perforated and shredded. "That was… impressive," Cortana remarked. "What was that rifle, by the way?"</p><p>"M50 Automatic Gauss Rifle," Alex replied. "Fires 8mm HEAP rounds at Mach 7.2. Recoil mitigation tech inside makes it as soft shooting as a .22 LR handgun from the 21st Century. Osman, the Elemental, is in the Battle Armor with the Flamer, and Xi Yang Long is using the M45 Phased Plasma Rifle."</p><p>While Chief didn't show any emotions on the outside, inside, he was just as impressed. Apparently, the Star League had continued to advance it's weapons technology instead of stagnating, which was proving to be an excellent tactical decision. "Thanks," one of the crew men shouted. "I thought we were both dead."</p><p>"Get yourselves to safety," Alex told them. "We'll continue moving through this area."</p><p>"Right," one of the others replied. Both crewmen looked at the Elemental's Battle Armor with an awed expression before running the way Chief and the others had come.</p><p>"By the way," Cortana asked as they left the area. "What was that you yelled at them?"</p><p>"Clan society has a number of unique terms," Alex explained. "The term <em>freebirth</em> is used for people born normally, as opposed to being born in an Advanced Growth Tank; it's normally a derogatory term, but it's negativity has faded considerably over time. The term <em>stravag </em>is an insult directed at someone that has little honor and breaks the law constantly. It's one of the worst insults in Clan society."</p><p>"Oh," Cortana replied. "I see." She quickly filed away the meaning of each term for future analysis. <em>I might even have Persephone educate me on the Clans, if that's what they are.</em></p><p>Moving forwards, they passed through a blacked out area just as Cortana shouted, "Covenant, on the landing above us!" Looking up, Chief could see that a number of UNSC Marines were in this area, fighting for their lives as the Covenant fired down on them from above. Blast doors on either side of the area began to open, revealing more Covenant.</p><p>Just then, another blast door opened on the ground floor, with the doors revealing SLDF Marines on the other side. The inner door opened at the same time as the outer one, with SLDF Marines jumping through the gap once it was large enough to jump through. "SLDF Marines, sir," one shouted when he saw Alex. "Orders?"</p><p>"Engage enemy forces," Alex shouted, pointing at the Covenant on the overhead landing. Moments later, the sound of MA5B's firing was mixed with the sounds of M50 Gauss, M35 Micro Pulse Laser and M45 Phased Plasma Rifles firing off, including a few M48 G-PDW's. Moving through, Chief engaged the Covenant with his own Micro Pulse Laser rifle, sending accurate bursts at Grunts and Elites that were too surprised by the newcomers arrival to act quickly enough. Walking inside, Chief watched as the Elemental walked into the room, firing his Flamer at the Covenant. Then, Chief watched as flames shot out from underneath the Battle Armor, lifting it directly up onto the landing. One alien, an Elite Captain, was unlucky enough to be caught in front of the Elemental, who grabbed him with the Battle Claw and sent him flying over the landing. There was a loud <em>CRACK</em> as the Elite landed head first before going limp.</p><p>The fighting grew more intense as they moved up. Getting up the stairs, Chief smashed the stock of his M35 MPL Rifle into the face of a Jackal, breaking it's jaw before he fired a few more laser pulses into the alien, killing it. He aimed and fired again at a Grunt, only to find that the weapon wasn't firing. Looking at his HUD, he saw the words 'POWER PACK DEPLETED. REPLACE POWER PACK.' "I'm out," he shouted, getting into cover.</p><p>"Here, let me show you how to reload it," an SLDF Marine called out to him. Rolling behind the cover where Chief was at, the Marine pulled out the expended Power Pack like a regular mag before sliding another one in. "You're good to go now. Take some of my Power Packs. You'll need them more than I do."</p><p>Chief took the Power Packs and put them into his utility belt. Now that he could look, Chief also noticed what he realized was a heat bar on the weapon. When his MPL rifle ran out, he found that it had been on the verge of overheating. <em>Uses power and has a heat limit, remember that, </em>he told himself. They continued to move up, fighting off enemy combatants as they proceeded to the lifeboats. The more he fought with them, the more impressed Chief became with their professionalism and training. In addition to the advanced armor, Chief noticed that the SLDF Army and Marine Command forces had energy shielding built into their armor. It's resilience varied, with the regular infantry's shields being half as strong as his own, while the Elemental's energy shield was just as strong, if not, stronger.</p><p>The Elemental's <em>Salamander IIa </em>Battle Armor was by far, their most impressive ground asset yet. The armor moved fluidly and organically, a far cry from the prototype Mjolnir Armor the SPARTAN-I's used. It was also durable, as it's energy shields were taking a considerable number of hits. When the shields failed, the armor provided ample protection, allowing the Elemental to take down any enemies before retreating to recharge it's shields. It was also dealing the enemy extensive casualties. An Elite charged at the Elemental, Energy Sword in hand, only to be caught in mid-air and flung into the wall; the blow was hard enough that the metal panel crumpled inward, with the Elite slumping to the ground, it's neck at an odd angle. A group of Jackals tried to form a shield wall, only to be knocked over like bowling pins when Osman boosted forwards with his Jump Jets. At one point, Osman even kicked a Grunt, sending it flying like a soccer ball for a good twenty meters. Moving through the area, they eventually came to a part of the <em>Autumn </em>that had viewports. Just then they heard Keyes say, "All hands, this is the Captain speaking. We're abandoning ship. Combat Teams, divert Covenant boarders until all personnel are away. Good luck, Keyes out." The intercom fell silent a moment later.</p><p>They quickly arrived at a loading area for the lifepods, but it was clear they were too late for these, as their airlocks were closed. "The lifepods are launching, we have to hurry," Cortana shouted. Entering the area, they heard her say, "Warning: Blast Doors closing." Chief heard a quiet <em>clunk</em> as the blast doors hermetically sealed themselves shut, preventing any form of escape from the ship. Up ahead, he spotted about four Grunts that were absentmindedly milling about, unaware of their presence. Chief raised his weapon to fire when Alex acted first, firing his Auto Gauss Rifle four times in a row. All four shots were lethally accurate, with the heads of each Grunt exploding like firecrackers when the rounds detonated.</p><p>Looking outside, Chief watched as a life pod began heading at flank speed to the ring, only to be blasted out of existence by a Covenant energy beam. Another life pod nearly suffered the same fate, only for what he assumed was a Star League fighter to take the blow, with the pilot ejecting moments earlier. The fighter was destroyed, but in the process, it allowed the life pod to safely make it to safety. "The Covenant are destroying the life pods," Cortana noted. "They really don't want us on that ring."</p><p>"Too bad for them," Alex replied. "We're getting onto that ring, even if it means ramming the enemy's ships to get through." Looking at the area they were in, he asked, "Cortana, do you have schematics as to the deck of the ship we're on?"</p><p>"Affirmative," Cortana replied. "There's are maintenance corridors throughout the entire ship. Follow the nav point I'm sending you; it'll lead to one of the doors." Alex merely nodded in reply as they moved onward. The nav point Cortana sent the team led to a maintenance hatch that was just around the bend where the Grunts had been killed. It was a small door, just barely large enough for a 7' tall man to enter, with a small keypad on the right side of the two section door. Dim red lights provided just enough illumination to see by, but beyond that, the entire place was completely dark.</p><p>Alex was worried about the size of the maintenance shafts. While he, Xi Yang Long and Franklin could fit in perfectly, Osman was wearing his Battle Armor, which was fairly bulky. Looking at Osman, he asked, "Think you can fit in there?"</p><p>"Not sure," the Elemental replied, "but I'm willing to give it a try. If I don't fit, I'll head to one of those doors and begin EVA operations. I'll flag down an AeroSpace Fighter and have it transport me to the <em>Mjolnir's Twin</em>." Moments later, Osman moved forwards towards the door. True enough, the shaft was too narrow for the Elemental, as he got in partially before his Missile Pods hit the top of the shaft with a loud <em>CLUNK</em>, blocking his entry. "Shit," the Elemental growled. "Sorry, Commander. You'll have to go one without me."</p><p>"That's alright," Commander Alex replied. "I figured that you were too large for it. Head outside and begin traveling to the DropShip. Once we're planet side, I'll have you head towards my personal locator beacon. Aff?"</p><p>"Aff," Osman replied. With the sound of armored boots clunking against the metal deck, the Elemental began proceeding to the airlocks they'd passed. They heard the sound of the airlock's internal doors opening before they shut.</p><p>"Aff," Cortana asked.</p><p>"Short for Affirmative," Alex replied. "One of the Clans founders, Andrey Kerensky, had a habit of saying 'Aff' instead of Affirmative and 'Neg' instead of Negative. It's a quirk that quickly became standard Clan terminology." There was no further conversation as they proceeded into the maintenance shafts. As he was more familiar with the ship, and had Cortana guiding him, Chief was chosen as the Point Man of the group, with Alex, Long, and Franklin following him in that order. Following Cortana's nav points, they navigated their way through the dark shafts.</p><p>"We need to find a safe exit," Cortana stated. "Activating Motion Tracker". She queried Persephone on whether or not the Star Commander had a similar sensor suite, to which the answer was yes. That took a load off of Cortana's processing systems. The conversation was measured in milliseconds, as Chief noticed his Motion Tracker activating. The UNSC grade Motion Tracker was designed to detect objects based on air ionization caused by movement, along with pressure changes and other variables. The system also tracked I/FF tags to determine if the contact was a friendly, a neutral, or an enemy; in this case, Alex and his squad came up as yellow dots, indicating they were friendlies. White dots were contacts that had no inclination toward either side, and red meant an enemy. Approaching a locked exit, Chief watched as his motion tracker picked up a swarm of red dots, while he spotted Covenant troops on the other side. "We're too close," Cortana reported. "We need to find a different exit." Backing off, he traveled to another door, only to find it was surrounded by enemies as well.</p><p>That was when he noticed a door that led to a dark room. "Motion Tracker shows all clear here," Cortana reported; with that in mind, Chief moved to the door, but it jammed halfway open when it lost power. Taking a hold of both doors, Chief forced them open as quietly as he could, allowing the others through before closing it up, blocking any chance of pursuit. The room was damaged and poorly lit. The only source of light was a door that was damaged from an explosion, which had left a crater in one of the walls. Electrical cables dangled in the crater, sending sparks cascading down when they touched something conductive. "I'm reading a hostile contact in the corridor ahead," Cortana reported. "Analyzing. This door appears to have been damaged by an explosion. I recommend…"</p><p>She was interrupted when Xi Yang Long walked up to the door and kicked the door panels. The blow was powerful enough that it bent the broken door panels outward, bending them around the frame just enough to admit Chief through the door. A moment later, she said something in Mandarin, which was translated by Chief's helmet into a sentence saying, "Less talk, more action." Instead of commenting, Chief gave a nod and moved through the door, while Cortana did the AI equivalent of shrugging her shoulders. Moving along, they quickly spotted the hostile contact: a lone Grunt in the hallway that had it's back turned to them. Motioning to the others to keep quiet, Chief pulled out his Kukri, which was standard issue in the UNSC, before silently moving forwards. When he was close enough, he put on a burst of speed and, with the silence of a panther, grabbed the Grunt by it's respirator and jammed the knife into it's neck, killing it instantly. Motioning for the others to move up, Chief watched as they moved up, with Alex giving him a nod of approval before continuing forward.</p><p>They found that the corridor led to the doors that they had worked to get by when they were in the shafts. Pulling out a small, round object, Alex pressed something on the top before hurling it at an Elite Minor in the room. Chief watched as the object hit the Elite's armor and remained adhered to it's armor; the Elite noticed the object and began trying to pull it off, only for it's fingers to become glued to the object as well. It moved towards the others to try and get it off, exactly what Alex was hoping for. A moment later, the object revealed it's purpose, as it exploded violently, sending shrapnel flying. In the confines of the hallway, the effect was nothing short of devastating, as limbs flew everywhere from the force of the detonation. Blood and gore splattered onto the walls, ceiling and floor, painting a macabre scene before the others. Metal panels in the hallway, as well as small objects flew around as though a tornado had thrown them about. <em>A sticky grenade, </em>Chief noted inwardly. <em>Useful.</em></p><p>The blast caught the aliens off guard, blinding them to the real attack that Alex and his men launched. Chief focused on taking out the Elites with his MPL Rifle, sending pulses of laser light at the Elites, while Alex and the others focused on the remaining Jackals and Grunts. The Elite Chief was firing at snarled when it's shields failed, the MPL cutting through it's nanolaminate armor as well. It got about two seconds before the laser beam perforated it's chest. When it didn't fall, Chief reaimed at it's head, which killed the Elite when the laser beam tore through it's brain cavity. The second Elite charged at Alex, who was busy with a Jackal. Unable to dodge in time, the Star Commander took the brunt of the tackle, hitting the ground with a loud "<em>OOOOOFFFF." </em>Pulling out a Plasma Knife, the Elite stabbed downward at him. Alex dodged the knife blow by moving his head to the right, the Plasma Knife embedding itself into the metal deck. Pulling back his legs, he kicked the Elite as hard as he could, the myomers in his armor adding to the force of the blow. The Elite Major was thrown off of him, the alien staggering back as he pulled out his own knife, a 5in long blade composed of a titanium nanocomposite that had a lightening cut in the middle. While the Elite was staggered, Alex rushed forward and, jumping into the air, plunged the knife into the Elite's neck. The Elite roared in pain as the knife sunk into it's neck. Panicking, the alien tried to pull him off it, only for the Clan Warrior to pull the knife down and to the left, severing vital arteries and veins. Hopping off, Alex watched as the Elite slowly bled to death, it's movements becoming more feeble as time went on. After a minute, the Elite gave a long, loud sigh as it finally exanguinated, it's limbs falling still.</p><p>"You alright," Chief asked as he walked over to Alex.</p><p>"Aff," Alex replied. "<em>Stravag </em>just sucker punched me when I wasn't looking. Still combat ready." As the Star Commander was, indeed, fine, Chief took point once more. They eventually came to a room that overlooked a larger room with a series of man-sized tubes inside. Chief recognized it as the control/observation room for the cryo-bay that held his cryo-tube. Behind him, Alex recognized the place as well, from the schematics that Cortana shared with him. Cryogenic suspension wasn't used in the Inner Sphere, as the K-F Drive allowed a ship to jump to another star system in just a few seconds, negating the need for cryogenic stasis. Apparently, the UNSC needed the technology due to the inefficient Slipstream Space Drive.</p><p>On top of that, the room wasn't empty either. Several Elites, including an Elite Captain, were inside the room, looking at Chief's cryo-pod. One of them let off an angry roar when it saw the pod was empty. "It looks like they wanted to catch you napping," Cortana remarked dryly. Chief nodded in agreement. It was a good thing he was revived when he was.</p><p>Moving on, they spotted another Elite in a room nearby. Chief was about to fire at the Elite when an explosion tore through the area, shredding the Elite and sending debris at them. "Move it," Alex shouted, motioning the others to head to the left.</p><p>"Really," Cortana remarked. "Ask yourself a question. Is what I'm doing right now, helping Cortana from blowing into tiny, tiny bits?"</p><p>"Not really, but we don't have a choice," Franklin remarked, not knowing the question was rhetorical. Just then, he spotted a pair of fuel tanks that were about to explode. As the others ducked into cover, Franklin shouted, "Look out," before tackling the Chief to the ground, which was no mean feat given how heavy his armor was. Both men tumbled to the ground behind a support strut just as the tanks exploded, annihilating a squad of Grunts on the other side. Helping Chief pull himself to his feet, Franklin and the others entered another maintenance shaft, just as another explosion rang out.</p><p>"The fucking ship's tearing itself apart," Alex growled. "I wonder how much more damage the ship can take."</p><p>"I'm not sure either" Cortana answered. With that, they continued through another set of maintenance corridors, this time with Long as the leader. She rounded a corner, only to fire off a burst of plasma bolts, shouting angrily in Mandarin all the while. When Chief came around the corner, he found a Grunt lying dead on the floor, it's body charred by plasma fire. Pushing past her, they came out into another set of shafts, after which they found another door. The fighting got intense once more, as more Covenant forces were outside. The squad split into two sections, with Alex going with the Chief, while Franklin and Long acted as the rearguard, fighting off any Covenant that tried to approach them from the rear. Xi Yang Long fired off more plasma bolts, while Franklin discharged his MPL Rifle at any enemies dumb enough to approach them.</p><p>Up ahead, Chief found more UNSC Marines firing back at the enemy, as well as a cache of grenades near a series of airlocks. Throwing a few, Chief was satisfied to see a number of Covenant being torn apart by the ensuing detonations. There was an even more powerful blast a moment later, courtesy of a grenade that Alex hurled through the air. "There's one last lifepod," Cortana shouted. "Quick! Before it launches!" Taking her advice, Chief charged towards it.</p><p>Just behind him, there was an explosion, just as a UNSC Marine hurled himself forwards. "Oh, no," he shouted. "Oh, no!" He lay on the ground, just as Franklin grabbed the man and hurled him inside.</p><p>"Now would be a very good time to leave," Cortana shouted.</p><p>Following the rest of the team inside, Chief too hold of one of the hand holds inside the life pod and told the pilot, "Punch it."</p><p>"Aye, aye, sir," the life pod pilot replied, slapping her visor down. Moments later, there was a loud, metallic, <em>POP </em>as the life pod launched off from the <em>Autumn.</em> "We're clear of the <em>Autumn</em>. Going for minimum safe distance."</p><p>"Sir, are we going to be alright," the Marine that Franklin saved asked. "I don't wanna die out here."</p><p>Chief simply put a hand on the man's shoulder, which reassured the man. "Look," Cortana told Chief, prompting him to head to the life pod's cockpit. Gazing out the viewport, he watched as the life pod quickly approached the object they'd found.</p><p>"What the h*ll is that thing," a Marine asked.</p><p>"Hell if I know," the pilot replied, "but we're landing on it."</p><p>"The <em>Autumn</em>," a Marine shouted. "She's been hit!"</p><p>"I knew it," Cortana said as the Chief looked out the lifepod's rear viewports. "The <em>Autumn's </em>accelerating. Keyes is going in manually." Looking out, Chief and the others watched as the ship surged forwards. Plasma bursts impacted the hull, but the <em>Autumn</em> continued to move forwards, shooting past the life pod and making a beeline to the ring. Looking to the left and right, Chief watched as the Star League ships surged forwards as well, their powerful Impulse Engines blazing a blue-white color as they easily kept up with the <em>Autumn</em>. All the while, they continued to fire off their weapons at the Covenant ships, scoring major damage on a few of them. They also zoomed past the life pod, shields flaring and armor ablating as they took more weapons fire with seeming impunity.</p><p>"Heads up, lock yourselves in," the Pilot shouted. "We're entering the ring's atmosphere in five." Moments later, Chief felt the life pod beginning to shudder as it began to reenter the ring's atmosphere. There was brief wisp of blue light, then the pod was slowly surrounded by a white-hot sheath of plasma as the pod began rubbing into the atmosphere.</p><p>"You think we'll make it," Cortana asked Chief in a moment of uncertainty.</p><p>"We'll be fine," Chief replied. Crouching down, he began bracing for impact.</p><p>"If I still had fingers, they'd be crossed," Cortana remarked.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Inner Sphere Codex Entry: Infantry Weapons (Rifles)</p><p>Infantry weaponry is as old as warfare itself. From the primitive stones and clubs used in the Stone Age, to the most advanced weaponry in the Star League, infantry weapons allow common foot soldiers to be highly effective on the battlefield. Many people believe that, were it not for the development of infantry weapons, other areas of weapons research might've stagnated.</p><p>Inner Sphere weaponry varies wildly in function, and purpose. The SLDF, however, makes use of only a few of these weapons, as having a large number of different service rifles will clog up logistics greatly. Because of this, only three service rifles are allowed to be in active use at any given time.</p><p>The first standard issue long arm of the SLDF Army and Marine Commands is the M50 Hammer Automatic Gauss Rifle. Designed in 3015 by Federated-Barrett as a replacement for the aging M42B Rifle System, the M50 Hammer works by firing 8mm HEAP shells at hypersonic velocities, using magnetic induction. The rifle has an effective range of roughly 400m, and a maximum range of around 2800m. The use of recoil mitigation technologies allows the rifle to have the same amount of recoil as a 20th Century, M16A1 service rifle. While the rifle is capable of creating a smart-link with the user's helmet HUD, many soldiers prefer to mount optics or leave the iron sights on the weapon.</p><p>The second standard issue long arm in both the Army and Marine Commands is the M35 Micro Pulse Laser Rifle. Developed in 3020 to replace the aging Laser Rifle, the Micro Pulse Laser Rifle works by using advanced LASER technology to generate a rapidly pulsing beam of red light. This allows the Micro Pulse Laser to inflict more damage than a standard Micro Laser, as vaporized material has time to dissipate before the next pulse, reducing beam dispersion.</p><p>The final, and newest, standard issue long arm of the SLDF is the M45 Phased Plasma Rifle. Developed in 3025, the Phased Pulse Rifle was directly inspired by the Terminator franchise of the late 20th Century. After extensive research, it was found that the SLDF could not only replicate the rifle in the franchise, it could improve upon the original design. After extensive R&amp;D, the M45 Phased Plasma Rifle passed military trials, becoming the newest energy weapon in the SLDF arsenal.</p><p>The M45 Phased Plasma Rifle works by generating a toroid of superheated, hydrogen plasma. This plasma is then accelerated out of the barrel at supersonic velocities via rail accelerators built into the nanocomposite lined barrel. When the bolt impacts a energy shield, the neutrally charged plasma ionizes, causing an electrical overload of the energy shield. If the plasma impacts and penetrates armor, the plasma bolt will convert into a plasma cloud that flash cooks any organic material in it's path. This causes extreme burns and, should the plasma penetrate into the torso cavity of a living organism, instant death by flash cooking the internal organs.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Halo: Part One</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Halo - BattleTech: MechWarrior - Mass Effect multicrossover. Thank you for the support that you've shown thus far. I really appreciate any feedback that I can get. Don't forget to leave a comment at the end of each chapter, as that is my primary means of feedback.</p><p>As always, leave a comment, a kudo or two, and enjoy!</p><p>Disclaimer: I do not own the Halo, BattleTech: MechWarror or Mass Effect franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Microsoft Game Studios, 343 Industries, Bungie, Electronic Arts, BioWare, FASA Corporation, FASA Interactive, Catalyst Game Labs and Piranha Games Inc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or artists.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Installation 04</strong>
</p><p>
  <b>UNSC Lifepod</b>
</p><p>
  <strong>September 19th, 2557</strong>
</p><p>"We're coming in too fast," Cortana shouted over the COM. The moment he heard that, Chief's stomach sank. That was something that no one wanted to hear in a life pod; coming in too fast meant that there was a very high probability that the occupants were going to die shortly.</p><p>As the life pod plummeted through the air, Chief hear a loud sound, like metal being torn apart before being ripped off of something. A glance out the back had him witness one of the air brakes being torn cleanly off of the life pod. "Damn, air brakes have failed," the pilot shouted. "I'm losing her! Brace for impact!"</p><p>"Warriors," Alex shouted simultaneously. "Lock up armor systems! Brace, brace, BRACE!" Immediately, the armor that Alex and his men wore locked up, locking their limbs into place in preparation for the crash. Then everything became chaotic and disorganized. Of all the people on the life pod, only Alex remained conscious of what happened. There was a terrible, crashing sound as the life pod landed belly first onto the ground before grinding into the dirt. The impact badly jarred Chief, throwing him towards the back like a human cannon ball. Franklin's helmet bashed against the crash harness he was using, knocking him cleanly out, while the others were KO'ed and thrown about like ragdolls. Ammunition and medical kits flew through the air as the lockers failed to remain shut. Eventually, after a short eight seconds, the life pod came to a sudden halt.</p><p>Alex remained in place for roughly five seconds before his armor lock disengaged, his limbs screaming at him as he tried to get out. A loud groan escaped his mouth as he disengaged the crash harness before getting up on shaky legs. He was barely able to keep his balance as he staggered towards the door, using the manual release lever to open the door to the life pod. Once outside, he sat down and pulled his helmet off. The right side of his head felt as though a <em>JagerMech-III</em> had stomped on it, probably where his head had hit the crash harness. Touching the area, he felt some swelling and tenderness there; thankfully, it appeared as though his helmet had done it's job, as he didn't feel anything wet or sticky there. Using his Tactical Gauntlet Computer, he found that injury was the only one he had, aside from the usual bruises. With the immediate problem out of the way, he put his helmet on and got back up, his legs not nearly as shaky as before.</p><p>Walking over to Franklin, he could tell that the man was unconscious, the dark man's eyes having closed. "Franklin," Alex called out. "Franklin, can you hear me? Franklin, are you alright?"</p><p>There was silence, then a loud groan as Franklin came to. His helmet had also done it's job, though he had a very mild concussion. Looking up at Alex, he said, "Aauugghh… My head feels like an <em>Atlas </em>played soccer ball with it before stomping on it. Is… is Xi Yang Long OK?" Moments later, his question was answered by some groaning in Mandarin. Looking to his right, Alex watched as Xi got out of her seat, holding her head as though her helmet was a giant ice pack. "That's a relief," Franklin groaned. Undoing his crash harness, Alex helped Franklin out of the life pod before going inside to check on the others. Unfortunately, it appeared as though Alex's men were the only ones that survived, as when he checked the necks of the other Marines, he didn't find a pulse. Not even the pilot had survived the crash, as her neck lay at an angle that he knew wasn't normal.</p><p>He moved over to the Spartan and began checking him over. Apparently, he'd locked up his armor just before impact as well, as he was still in the posture he had when he was holding onto the grips near the pilot seat. "Chief, Chief, can you hear me," Alex called out. "Chief, you alright?"</p><p>After a moment, the armor lock on Chief's armor disengaged, his limbs falling limply to the ground. A moment later, Alex heard Cortana say, "Chief? Chief, can you hear me?" Alex was about to find out if Chief was alive when the man slowly began to move. Getting up, Chief felt surprisingly fine, given the severity of the crash. His armor's gel layer had absorbed the brunt of the impact, and whatever it hadn't, his muscles had done surprisingly well at dampening. Looking around, he found that Alex and his men were up and about, though it was clear that they'd been battered by the crash landing. "At last," he heard Cortana breath. "Are you alright? Can you move?"</p><p>"I'm fine," Chief replied. There was some soreness, mostly from the crash, but beyond that, nothing was broken or needed urgent care.</p><p>Noticing the Marines, he was about to check on them when Alex said, "Do not bother, Chief. I already tried. The impact killed everyone except for me, Franklin, Xi and you. Not even the pilot lived through the crash. There is nothing we can do for them now, other than to survive, for their sake."</p><p>"I agree," Cortana replied. "There's nothing we can do. We'll need to scavenge for anything we can use. Alex, how's your ammunition?"</p><p>"I have roughly 120 rounds remaining for my Auto Gauss Rifle," Alex replied. "We have roughly 20 Power Packs, which amounts to well over a thousand uses for the MPL Rifles. Beyond that, we have the Power Packs for the Phased Plasma Rifle and that is about it, as far as I can tell." Moving towards Chief, he found the MPL that he'd loaned the SPARTAN-II After checking the charge level, he handed it to Chief. "It's still operational," he told the Spartan.</p><p>Chief wasn't too surprised by this fact. It was well known that energy based weapons had to be durable if they were to be used by front line infantry personnel, which was one reason why energy weapons weren't common in the UNSCDF. Fortunately, it appeared as though the Star League had taken the time and effort to make sure their weaponry was advanced, and durable. Walking outside, Chief could tell that the survivors had gotten pulled together. Franklin was having a little trouble, and Cortana's readouts showed the man had a mild concussion. Beyond that, everyone else was combat ready. As they finished pulling together the remaining few supplies that they had, Cortana detected something on the MJOLNIR suit's long range sensors. "Warning, I'm detecting Covenant drop ships inbound," she alerted the others. "We need to get out of here."</p><p>"Those hills," Xi noted, speaking English for the first time since she'd come with Alex and the others. "If we move into those hills over that bridge there, we'll be able to hide for a time. We might trick the Covenant into thinking everyone died in the crash."</p><p>"That's good tactical thinking," Chief agreed. "Alex, can you call in reinforcements?"</p><p>"The <em>Mjolnir's Twin</em> is linked to my armor's HUD, as well as any UAV's that we have," Alex replied. "I can not use it if there's not enough room for the ship to land. Once we find enough room, then I will call her in and we can get some 'Mech fire support, preferably <em>Jager</em><em>M</em><em>ech</em><em>-</em><em>III's </em>if possible. Those are excellent AA defense 'Mechs, but they are good at Anti-Vehicular work as well." Chief nodded at that. He didn't know what a 'Mech' was, but if Alex said it would provide excellent fire support, then he would take him at his word. Everyone quickly got their gear together and began heading for the hills. They crossed a long, narrow bridge that lacked railings on either side, which had Alex wondering if this was a lapse in thinking on the Dyson Ring's builders, or if it was actually a large pipe that they could walk on. Fortunately, there was a thick cluster of trees where the hills were, thick enough that it was hard to see through the branches, as well as the thick brush, making it easier for the soldiers to hide themselves. On top of that, SLDF armor was painted in an olive drab and gray scheme, which was very easy to hide. Chief noted that when Franklin lay down on the ground and held still, he looked more like a patch of rocks in the grass than an actual soldier.</p><p>As they continued to move through the brush and foliage, Franklin looked up upon hearing a noise. "Shit," he growled. "Covenant AeroSpace Fighters inbound. Looks like T-47 Banshees."</p><p>A moment later, they watched as a large ship, shaped like a tuning fork with a turret on the bottom, flew overhead. "Alert: Covenant drop ship inbound," Cortana warned. "They must be looking for survivors. I recommend immediate evasion."</p><p>"Good idea," Alex agreed. "We will keep moving through the brush until we find a way out. Xi, do you have a UAV?"</p><p>"Yes," Xi Yang Long</p><p>"Good," Alex smiled. "I need you to deploy the UAV so that we can find a way out of here. If it has a Micro Void Signature System, that will prevent it from being detected and letting the Covenant know we're here."</p><p>"It has one," Long reassured Alex. She pulled out a small drone, about the size of a grapefruit, and let it fly up into the air, where it began scanning the area for an exit as it shimmered into invisibility. "There is exit at the end of this valley," Long said as she looked at the video surveillance. "Marking it with way point."</p><p>Noticing the waypoint on his HUD, Alex motioned for the others to continue following him. The group did their best to stay silent, using the brush and trees to avoid detection as they moved onwards. As they continued forward, Alex noticed a number of red chevrons on his sensor readout. "All members, be advised, we have Covenant ground forces inbound. We will try to sneak past them if we can."</p><p>"Affirmative," Chief replied. Moving through the brush some more, they found a squad of Covenant forces, mostly Grunts and Jackals being led by an Elite Major and Minor. Alex also saw a Jackal, but it had black plumage on it's head and it seemed to be highly athletic, as it easily jumped a good five meters into the air onto a rocky outcropping in the cliff wall. "Skirmishers," Chief explained. "Like the Jackals, but they rely on agility to remain undamaged."</p><p>"Noted," Alex replied as they slowly moved towards the exit to the valley. Moving past the Covenant ground forces was tricky, but Alex knew that it could be done. Noticing the Elite Major was getting too close, Alex picked up a rock and hurled it at a nearby boulder. There was a sharp <em>CRACK </em>as the rock shattered into pieces; hearing the sound, the Elite Major began moving his troops over there to investigate the disturbance. That made a wide enough gap that Chief and the others were able to move through with little trouble. Reaching the exit to the valley, Chief noticed that it was a short, but steep drop to another grassy area. Acting as a pair of stairs were a few nearby boulders, which the squad used to hop down safely to the rest of the area. Looking at the UAV feed, Alex said, "There is an unidentified facility nearby, but the grassy area beyond that is large enough for the <em>Mjolnir's Twin</em>."</p><p>"Call it in," Chief ordered.</p><p>"Aff," Alex replied. Keying his comm, Alex said, "Commander Alex to SLS/CWS <em>Mjolnir's Twin</em>, we need reinforcements at… Lima eight-niner-four. Landmark is an unidentified facility that is sending pulses of energy towards the center of the Dyson Ring. Be advised, there is a sheer cliff near what appears to be a cave of some kind."</p><p>There was silence, then a woman's voice said, "Copy that, Commander. We're <em>enroute </em>to the LZ now. ETA: 5 mikes. Hold out until we arrive."</p><p>"Aff," Alex replied. "Commander Alex, out." Looking at Chief, he said, "The DropShip's inbound, Chief. It will be here in roughly five minutes. Until then, we need to hole up at the facility and…" Just then, they all heard weapons fire coming from up ahead. "Scratch that, we need to get there now! Double time it, people!" Moving fast, they came out of the sheer sided canyon to the clearing that the UAV had spotted. On their side was the facility, which was made of a metal alloy that the UAV was unable to identify. Long ramps led upwards into the facility, with the facility center holding what looked like an energy emitter, a guess that was confirmed when it shot a pulse of energy skyward. The other side had a large, open area with a sheer cliff and a tunnel. That was of little concern to them right now, however, as there was a firefight going on in front of them. Covenant troops were pouring out of <em>Spirits</em>, the Covenant's equivalent of a VTOL Troop Carrier, and engaging UNSC Marines that had holed up inside the facility. Each <em>Spirit's</em> gun was firing large, triple groups of plasma bolts at the UNSC Marines, forcing them to take cover and allowing the Covenant to advance.</p><p>What the Covenant didn't expect was to start taking fire from the rear. An Elite gave a surprised squawk when a phased plasma bolt struck his back, causing him to whirl around while tumbling forwards. Looking behind them, the Covenant watched as four individuals came running out towards them, weapons blazing as they charged forwards. Alex roared as he pelted a number of Covenant with rounds from his Gauss Rifle, tearing apart a few Grunts in the process. Chief, just like the cold, professional soldier he was, silently fired his MPL Rifle at an Elite, downing it's shields and cutting through it's armor. Long was firing her Phased Plasma Rifle at another Elite, the plasma bolts tearing it's shields apart and punching through it's armor. The Elite that Chief was firing at died as soon as the laser cut through it's armor, while Long's rifle quickly neutralized the Elite she was firing at. Caught off guard by the attack, a group of Covenant had no time to react when Franklin threw an impact detonation grenade at them, sending shrapnel flying in all directions. Shifting focus, Alex quickly took down a Skirmisher before spotting an Elite charging at him. Backpedaling, Alex allowed Chief and Long to neutralize the Elite, while he helped Franklin mop up the rest of the enemy forces. After a couple minutes, the Covenant's ground forces had fallen. Spotting the squad, one of the Marines at the structure shouted, "Look at that. Calvary's arrived."</p><p>"Welcome to the party," another Marine remarked.</p><p>"Who's the CO here," Chief asked.</p><p>"I am," a gritty voice called out. Walking out into view was a dark skinned UNSC Marine with Sergeant's stripes, a military cap on his head, and a MA5B in his hands. His name tag identified him as 'Johnson, A.' "It's a mess, sir," Sergeant Johnson remarked. "We're scattered all over this valley. We called for evac, but until you showed up, I thought we were cooked." Looking behind Chief, he asked, "Are you three the newcomers that Keyes talked about?"</p><p>"Aff," Alex replied. "I'm Star Commander Alex Wolverine. This is Xi Yang Long, my Communications/Tech Specialist, and this is Franklin Patrick, my marksman. We are all 'MechWarriors here."</p><p>"Really," Johnson remarked. Pulling out a cigar, he lit the cigar, taking a smoke before saying, "If that's the case, we'll need all the help we can get. I don't know what a 'MechWarrior' is, but I hope that's a good thing. We've got wounded Marines and we're low on supplies. We'll end up having to scavenge the Covenant's weaponry at this rate."</p><p>"Don't worry," Alex replied. "I have got a <em>Union-IV </em>DropShip coming in a few minutes to provide us with fire support and evacuation. If they arrive in time, we will have fire support from the DropShip itself, as well as a <em>JagerMech-III</em>."</p><p>"Don't know what a <em>Jager</em><em>M</em><em>ech-</em><em>III </em>is, but I hope it's a good thing," Johnson remarked. "Because we…"</p><p>"Heads up," a UNSC Marine called out. "Covenant DropShip incoming!"</p><p>"Shit," Johnson growled. "Alright, Marines! Get into position and get ready. Soon as those Covenant get in range, let 'em have it!" Turning to Alex and the others, he said, "You three, get up on the structure and lay down some cover fire for my boys. The Master Chief will engage the Covenant head on. I know you technically outrank me, but that's exactly where we need you."</p><p>Alex smiled; he liked that plan. "Aff, Sergeant," he smiled. Turning to his men, he said, "Franklin, you get up on the structure and begin taking out any HVT's with your MPL rifle. Long, you and I will get to the Marines on the ground level and provide fire support with our weapons. The <em>Mjolnir's Twin</em> should be on the ground in less than three minutes."</p><p>"Rodger, Lead," Franklin replied. As Long followed Alex, Franklin began scaling the ramp, attaching a scope to his MPL Rifle for long range engagements. Setting up position with the other Marines, Alex and Long watched as the Chief advanced past them.</p><p>As soon as the Covenant disembarked from their Troop Carriers, Chief immediately went into action. Taking cover behind a life boat, Chief leaned out and fired a few pulses from his MPL Rifle, targeting any Elites and Jackals that he could fire at. A ruby red, Pulse Laser shot came from the structure and bored it's way through an Elite Major's shields and head, courtesy of Franklin, while Chief neutralized the Elite Minor. With their leadership dead, the Grunts immediately scattered, while the Jackals hunkered down and fired from behind their shield gauntlets. One Jackal jerked as a long range laser pulse singed it's hand, allowing Chief to pierce it's chest with another laser shot. At that moment, the MPL Rifle Chief had overheated, causing a series of vents to open up on the rifle. While it wouldn't take long for the rifle to cool down, Chief didn't want to waste any opportunity or time. Dropping the Pulse Laser Rifle, he took out his M6D and fired a number of shots at the Grunts and Jackals, while Franklin continued to provide fire support for him. After a minute of gunfire and plasma bolt exchange, the enemy ground troops were dead. The next wave was a similar result, with Chief and Franklin taking out the enemy forces before they got too close to the Marines. As he reloaded his MPL Rifle, Chief heard a UNSC Marine shout, "Uh, oh! Covenant Drop ship coming in behind us! They're trying to flank us!"</p><p>"Get your rifles ready, men," Chief heard Alex shout over the comms. "Short controlled bursts, people. Take out Elite's first; if they get killed, the rest of the unit will lose cohesion. Understood?" After some silence, Alex said, "Good. Now hunker down, we're about to get some heat." True enough, as soon as Alex said that, another Covenant <em>Spirit </em>came overhead. This one looped around the tower and headed towards the rear, exactly where the entrance to the valley was. It's cannon fired some more shots before the ship descended, disgorging it's cargo moments later. As soon as that happened, gunfire rang out from the large pipes and structures that the Marines were hiding behind. A few Auto Gauss Rifle shells impacted and killed a few Grunts, while Xi fired short bursts of plasma bolts at the Elites, damaging their shields and warping their armor from the extreme heat. Franklin rapidly relocated to the structure's other side, and before long, pulse laser beams cut through the air as well. Chief grabbed a Skirmisher that got too close and smashed it's body against the ground, it's head exploding in a gory explosion as his boot smashed into it. Looking up, Chief narrowly dodged a tackle from an Elite Major, just as a Pulse Laser pierced the Elite's shields and took it down. Reengaging the enemy, Chief took down a group of Covenant with a well placed Frag Grenade before ducking into cover to allow his shields to recharge. By the time he came out, the Covenant ground forces were, once again, neutralized. Another <em>Spirit </em>flew through the air, this time back to where the others had landed once again. Looking at his ammunition, Chief found only two of the Power Packs required for his MPL to function properly. He could tell that ammunition for the others was running low, with only Long having more than two Power Packs for her Plasma Rifle.</p><p>Just as the <em>Spirit </em>began to land, Chief was briefly startled when a beam of what appeared to be weaponized lightning speared the Covenant Troop Carrier. The Troop Carrier was torn to pieces, with the turret falling straight down, while the Troop Compartments fragmented into dozens of pieces, sending it's payload of ground forces falling to their deaths. The beam of energy struck the ground, with a blast of thunder echoing throughout the valley. Another Covenant <em>Spirit </em>that was coming in also suffered the same fate. Looking up, Chief saw the source of the <em>Spirits </em>demise: A large, bulbous ship was descending into the valley, it's engines roaring loudly as nuclear flames spewed from the bottom. Four landing legs deployed from the bottom, each leg bending slightly as the DropShip gracefully touched down onto the narrow area it could land on, with the engines shutting off moments later. The ground beneath the engines was glassed, the hot nuclear flames having scorched the ground. Stenciled on the side in black letters were the words <em>Mjolnir's Twin. </em>Chief found the name to be fitting. Just like the hammer of the mythical Norse god of thunder's weapon, the <em>Mjolnir's Twin </em>had fired a burst of lighting that had destroyed the <em>Spirit.</em> A moment later, he remembered seeing the same DropShip offloading Alex and his men onto the <em>Pillar of Autumn</em>. Behind him, he heard Johnson say, "That's a <em>Union-IV </em>DropShip? Damn, I'm impressed. Those Covenant sons of bitches didn't see that one coming."</p><p>"That is not all," Alex replied. Keying his comm, he said, "<em>Mjolnir's Twin, </em>Commander Alex here. You have that <em>JagerMech-III </em>ready to go for me?"</p><p>"Affirmative, Commander," came the Captain's reply. "We're deploying it now." Moments later, Chief watched as a large door began to open, lifting up and away from the frame. A few seconds later, the DropShip disgorged the <em>JagerMech-III.</em></p><p>Instead of a conventional tank, as he'd expected, Chief watched as a 9 meter tall, bipedal <em>robot</em>, walked out onto the ground. It had two, well armored legs that moved with a strange fluidity that only an organic being could accomplish, with those two legs supporting a torso that held a well armored cockpit on the upper section. Coming off the torso were two, hand-less arms, which had two pairs of what Chief could see were cannons of some kind. Four more weapons were mounted on the left and right sections of the torsos, though Chief could see they weren't cannons. The 'Mech was painted in SLDF colors: olive drab on the major components, and steel gray on the less visible ones. "What is that," Cortana asked, surprised. "I've never seen anything like that before."</p><p>"That is a <em>Jager</em><em>M</em><em>ech-</em><em>III</em>," Alex explained. "It is a Heavy class BattleMech that was developed by the Federated Commonwealth in the year 3015 to replace the <em>Rifleman-</em><em>IV</em> BattleMech. 60 tons in weight, armed with two Advanced Autocannon/10's, two Advanced Autocannon/2's, Two Variable Speed Large Pulse Lasers and two Medium Pulse Lasers of the same class. It is primarily designed to be an anti-aircraft and anti-vehicular BattleMech, though she can go up against other 'Mechs of the same class. Powering it all is an AXL300 Fusion Engine mounted inside of the torso, which gives it a top speed of 120 km/h."</p><p>Now Chief knew that <em>this </em>was impressive. Apparently, the Star League Defense Force had miniaturized fusion reactor technology enough to allow for vehicles using those same, micro-scaled fusion reactors. "How well armored is it," he asked.</p><p>"It has roughly 12 tons of Kallon UnityWeave Advanced Ferro-Lamellor ablative armor," Alex replied. "It also comes fully equipped with a Defiance Industries, Diana II Energy Shield System, which effectively doubles the armor without actually doing so. In other words, she can take a beating before going down. This particular version is the JM6-B4, which is a variant of the <em>JagerMech-III,</em> which typically has Particle Projection Cannons in lieu of A-AC/10's." While he was saying this, the <em>Jager</em><em>M</em><em>ech-</em><em>III</em> turned towards them and began to walk to the facility. Chief could hear the loud, thumping footfalls of the BattleMech as it approached them, coming to a stop just in front of the structure's main deck. Chief noticed that there was no pilot in the cockpit, indicating the BattleMech was being remotely controlled. A clunking sound was emitted from the top and the BattleMech took a kneeling stance on the ground, with a small hatch on the top that was open. Walking over, he said, "Chief, this is how we'll be doing things. I will pilot the <em>Jager</em><em>M</em><em>ech-</em><em>III </em>and provide fire support wherever you need it. If you Marines have any Troop Carriers inbound, now's the time to…"</p><p>Alex was interrupted by a woman's voice speaking over the COM. "Echo-419 to any and all UNSC survivors. If you can hear me, please respond."</p><p>"I recognize that Pelican pilot," Cortana remarked. A moment later, she said, "Foe Hammer, this is Cortana, we have UNSC Marines that are in immediate need of extraction. Do you have eyes on any more survivors?"</p><p>"Affirmative, Cortana. I'm seeing two groups of Marines. One near a structure, another near a rockslide, and another at the edge of a cliff. Hard to tell from up here but I think there are more survivors."</p><p>"Acknowledged. Foe Hammer, we have UNSC Marines that are in need of immediate assistance. Requesting immediate EVAC."</p><p>"I'm on my way."</p><p>"Chief, look up," Cortana said to the Spartan. Looking up, Chief watched as life pods came hurtling down towards the ground. "More life pods," she observed, "If they've got survivors, the Covenant'll be right on top of them." Contacting the Pelican, she said, "Foehammer, we need you to drop off your Warthog. The Master Chief and I will be looking for more survivors. We've also got fire support from our new friends."</p><p>"Rodger that," Foehammer replied. "I'm already seeing it right now. Is that some kind of a robot?"</p><p>"Negative. The Commander with us says it's called a BattleMech. It's some kind of mechanized, bipedal vehicle that is designed for ground warfare. It'll be providing us fire support on this mission."</p><p>"Affirmative, Cortana. Echo-419 out."</p><p>A few moments later, Foe Hammer's Pelican came into view. Looking at the Combat Vehicle, Alex could see that it had a passing resemblance to the bird of the same name, with it's large front end and relatively thin rear. Four gimballed thrusters on the sides allowed the Pelican to maneuver through the air gracefully, with the vehicle descending to ground level moments later. Hooked to the Combat Vehicle just behind the passenger bay was a two seated LATV that had a triple barreled minigun on the rear section. As soon as the Pelican landed, it released the Warthog, which landed on the ground with a muted <em>thump.</em> "Echo-419 here, Warthog is all yours," Foe Hammer called out. "OK. I'm coming to evac any survivors now."</p><p>"Good," Cortana replied. "The Master Chief and I will go scouting for the remaining survivors that we can find. Sergeant Johnson, you think you can spare a few men?"</p><p>"Affirmative, Cortana," Johnson replied. "All right, Marines. Any volunteers that want to go with the Master Chief, step up. The rest of you get to the drop ship."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Halo: Part Two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello again, and welcome to my Halo - Mechwarrior/Battletech - Mass Effect multicrossover. For those of you wanting to see 'Mech combat against Covenant vehicles, you're about to have a real treat. Thank you for your support, and I hope to see you in later chapters. As always, leave a comment, a kudo or two, and enjoy!</p><p>Disclaimer: I do not own the Halo, MechWarrior/BattleTech or Mass Effect franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Microsoft Game Studios, 343 Industries, Bungie, BioWare, Electronic Arts, FASA Corporation, FASA Interactive, Catalyst Game Studios and Piranha Games Inc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any of the music listed at the beginning of each chapter. Any music listed at the beginning of each chapter belongs to it's original composers.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Hunter – MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries OST</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Installation 04</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Near <em>Mjolnir's Twin</em></strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>September 19th, 2552</strong>
</p><p>When it came to the <em>Warthog</em>, there only two volunteers, but there were dozens of people who wanted to see the inside of the <em>Jager</em><em>M</em><em>ech-</em><em>III</em><em>. </em>Holding up a hand, Alex said, "I understand that you want to come and see the inside of the <em>Jager</em><em>M</em><em>ech-</em><em>III</em>, gentlemen, but I only have one rumble seat. I think that honor will go to Sergeant Johnson. He kept your asses alive long enough for us to save you, so I think he deserves the honor of riding in a BattleMech."</p><p>"It would be an honor," Johnson agreed. "Anyone want to dispute that?" When no one replied, he said, "Mhm, just the response I thought I'd get. Alright, ladies, get to the Pelican. The Chief, Commander and I will rescue those Marines. Ooahh!"</p><p>"Ohhrahh," the other Marines shouted. As they left for the Pelican, Johnson watched as Alex got into the BattleMech first before motioning to him. Following Alex's lead, he got inside of the <em>Jager</em><em>M</em><em>ech-</em><em>III</em><em>. </em>Surprisingly, the interior of the <em>Jager</em><em>M</em><em>ech-</em><em>III</em> reminded Johnson of the cockpit of a Broadsword Fighter. There was a seat just behind the pilot seat, presumably the 'rumble seat' that Alex had told him about, and in front of the seat were a number of displays and controls. While there were switches and buttons, the majority of the panels in front of him were ultra-thin touchscreens that held the majority of the controls, with similar displays above his head. The walls of the cockpit were a matte gray color that made it comfortable to look around in.</p><p>Sitting down on the rumble seat, he found the crash harness and quickly buckled himself inside, the clasps closing with a solid <em>click</em>. As soon as he was comfortable, he watched as Alex pressed a few buttons on his helmet, then began flicking switches and pressing buttons. "The 'Mech powered down when it knelled," Alex explained. "I am currently powering it up." Moments later, Johnson heard a synthesized voice say, <strong>"Reactor Online."</strong>At the same time, the 'Mech got up from it's kneeling stance into a standing stance. Moments later, the synthesized voice said, <strong>"Sensors Online, Weapons Online."</strong> There was a brief break between each announcement as the displays powered up. Alex took hold of a pair of contoured grips built into two, metal bars on either side of his body. Moments later, he heard, <strong>"All Systems: Nominal." </strong>"Alright," Alex replied, flicking another switch to give the Sergeant some comfort, with the sound of an internal A/C turning on moments later. "All systems are online and operational. Time to get a move on to the Marines." Keying his COM, he asked, "Cortana, how fast is the <em>Warthog</em>?"</p><p>"Standard cruising speed is 70 km/h," Cortana replied. "Why?"</p><p>"Just curious," Alex replied. Closing the COM, he said, "We will be able to match their speed. The <em>JagerMech </em>has a cruising speed of 120 km/h thanks to the Advanced XL Fusion Engine we have. We have also got MASC, which will boost our top speed to 180 km/h. You ready?"</p><p>"Ready," Johnson replied.</p><p>"Good," Alex replied. Turning back towards the front, he said, "Master Chief, you take point. I will come in behind you and provide fire support wherever you need it. Cortana, if you see a hostile target, paint it so that I can fire on it."</p><p>"Rodger that," Cortana replied. "Let's go." With that, the Warthog sped off, it's engine roaring loudly as it accelerated towards the tunnel.</p><p>As they left, Alex keyed his COM and said, "MechWarriors, load up in the <em>Mjolnir's Twin</em>. The Marines will take a <em>Pelican</em> to any safe zones that the WarShips can find. I will head with the Chief and provide fire support. Aff?"</p><p>"Aff," came the reply. With that, he settled in for the ride.</p><p>Johnson was about to ask Alex if he was going to follow when the BattleMech began to move forwards. He could feel his stomach going up and down slightly as the 'Mech walked along, though he could tell the rumble seat compensated for much of that. Looking at the displays, he noticed a lot of technical jargon that he didn't understand. "What is all of this," he asked. "How are you able to control this thing?"</p><p>"A lot of that jargon is for me," Alex replied. "As a Clan 'MechWarrior, I am trained on how to translate that information into something useful to me. As for how I am controlling it, my helmet's responsible for that."</p><p>"How?"</p><p>"All BattleMech pilots, aka 'MechWarriors, are trained in the use of a Neurohelmet, which is what I am wearing right now. Most 'Mechs have gyroscopic stability systems that keep the 'Mech balanced under all combat conditions. There are times, however, where a 'Mech as to be intentionally unbalanced in order to gain a greater combat advantage. That is where the Neurohelmet comes in. By reading the pilot's neural signals, the Neurohelmet can allow the pilot to manually unbalance the 'Mech. In the early days of 'Mech technology, that was about all the Neurohelmet could do. Modern Neurohelmets allow a 'MechWarrior to control a BattleMech as easily as his or her own body due to the use of a wireless BCM, Brain-Computer Interface, as well as High Mobility Actuators. That is why were moving forwards, even though there is no throttle stick: I am actually using my Neurohelmet to control the 'Mech in every fashion."</p><p>Sitting back in the rumble seat, Johnson mulled over the information he just got. It was a bit disturbing to be able to control something that easily; he much preferred a control column and throttle to this weird space-magic shit. He realized that, then again, the Star League was significantly more advanced than the UNSC, so what was weird to him made sense to them. Moving onward, they found themselves approaching the entrance to the cave. As soon as they got closer to it, Cortana said, "This cave isn't a natural formation. Someone built it, so it must lead somewhere." True enough, when they came to the mouth of the cave, they found the entrance to a large tunnel. The <em>Jager</em><em>M</em><em>ech-</em><em>III</em> was able to clear the roof of the tunnel by a narrow two meters, and the 'Mech nearly scraped against the roof every time it's gait reached it's highest point. The tunnel echoed with the thunderous footfalls of the 60 ton BattleMech like the footfalls of a giant.</p><p>The tunnel wasn't straight either. Shortly after they came inside, they found they had to turn around corners and bends. This wasn't difficult at all for the <em>Jager</em><em>M</em><em>ech-</em><em>III</em> or the Warthog, as the Warthog's wheels turned to allow the vehicle through the bends, while the BattleMech simply turned it's torso and legs in the direction it needed to go. As they proceeded along, Alex found his mind was wandering. Today had been a very strange day indeed. <em>First, we get yanked into another universe, then we end up having to fight an alien theocratic coalition, and now we are assisting this 'UNSC' in helping them survive. If I did not know any better, I would think I was going insane.</em></p><p>As they moved along, they came to an area that forked off into two different paths. Both paths led to a ramp that led upwards towards another part of the tunnel. There was a small gap between the ramp and the next part of the tunnel, narrow enough for a Combat Vehicle to make the jump on full power. Since they were on the part of the tunnel that showed where the ramp was, Alex could see the small overhang that hung just above and behind the ramp. What concerned him was that the tunnel became more cramped at this point. He knew he couldn't fit the <em>Jager</em><em>M</em><em>ech-</em><em>III</em> through the small tunnel that ran underneath the ramp, but he could get it to make a small hop onto the ramp, before walking over the gap. As the 'Mech turned left, Johnson asked, "Are we going to fit in there? It looks a little cramped."</p><p>"We are not going into there," Alex replied. Before Johnson could ask what he meant, Alex guided the 'Mech forwards, allowing it to drop the short distance off the overhang and onto the ramp. Once it was on the ramp, he guided the foot forwards, allowing it to place it's left foot on the other side. While Johnson couldn't see it, Alex was having to deeply concentrate, though his face was not strained, a result of training and his enhanced genes. A sliver of sweat ran down his face as he deftly maneuvered the 'Mech through the cramped space. As soon as the left foot of the <em>Jager</em><em>M</em><em>ech-</em><em>III</em> was firmly planted on the other side of the gap, the right foot pushed off, quickly landing on the other side. The BattleMech, now having completed the complicated maneuver, simply walked forwards a few meters before stopping. He let out a slightly strained breath before turning back to Johnson. "Nothing to it," he remarked, a smile on his face. "BattleMechs are that maneuverable, once you get to know their limitations." Johnson, who was regarding what happened with slightly widened eyes, nodded in agreement.</p><p>Outside in the Warthog, Chief was genuinely impressed with the agility the <em>Jager</em><em>M</em><em>ech-</em><em>III </em>showed, especially for a Heavy class vehicle. It wasn't easy getting a robotic machine to jump down onto a lower platform without stumbling while having it cross a gap. That indicated advanced, gyroscopic technology and highly refined controls that the Star League had clearly developed for their 'Mechs, technology that was still far away for the UNSC. Inwardly, Chief realized that the UNSC would benefit greatly from an alliance with the Star League, or any of the member nations for that matter. Coming back to the matter at hand, Chief gunned the engine on the Warthog, the vehicle moving fast enough to jump the gap between the ramp and tunnel. Driving past the <em>Jager</em><em>M</em><em>ech-</em><em>III</em>, he rounded two more corners before coming to a stop, shutting off the Warthog's headlamps a moment later. The tunnel came out into a cavernous room that had a number of rectangular objects on either side. Chief could also see what he thought was a path leading in on the right side. If that was the case, then that would be a good thing, as he noticed a massive gap between their side, as well as the other side of the room, where another large platform was at. "There is no way in hell I can clear that," Alex said over the COM. "The <em>Jager</em><em>M</em><em>ech-</em><em>III </em>has Class X jump jets, but I am not sure they can clear a gap that large, even if I was running at maximum velocity with MASC activated."</p><p>"MASC," Cortana asked.</p><p>"Myomer Accelerator Signal Circuitry," he replied. "Boosts the speed of the BattleMech when activated. A few centuries ago, it would have damaged the actuators on the 'Mech, though that is no longer a problem now. Either way, that's too large of a gap for my BattleMech. You'll need to find the bridge controls."</p><p>"Affirmative," Chief replied. "I spotted what I think is an entry way on the other side. There are Covenant personnel in here. We're going hot."</p><p>"Aff, Chief," Alex replied. "I will take the right side and neutralize all resistance there. You take the left side where there's the least resistance. I do not know how much damage a Warthog can take before it explodes."</p><p>"Good plan," Chief replied. Turning on the Warthog again, Chief began driving it to the left, where he spotted some Grunts and Jackals. Alex turned his BattleMech towards the right, and began laying down fire on the enemy forces there. Up in the BattleMech, Johnson watched as Alex began firing the close range weaponry on the <em>Jager</em><em>M</em><em>ech-</em><em>III</em>. Emerald green pulses of light shot out from the BattleMech's left torso and beneath it's cockpit, the lasers leaving charred, black lines in the structure's advanced metal alloy. For the most part, the alloy wasn't damaged at all. The same couldn't be said of the Elites, Grunts and Jackals guarding the place. One sweep of the 'Mech's VS-MPL's (Variable Speed Medium Pulse Lasers) effortlessly bisected an Elite vertically, both halves of the alien's body falling away from each other. Since the 'Mech was at close range, the Pulse Lasers were firing rapidly, allowing for the maximum damage possible for this kind of weapon. Eventually, the Elites, Jackals and Grunts on Alex's side were dead, their bodies torn apart by the VS-MPL's.</p><p>Looking behind himself, Alex could see that Chief was also finishing up. Seeing an opportunity, he said, "Chief, get back," before taking aim with the arm cannons. Once he'd aimed, he depressed the firing stud. Outside, Chief heard a loud, booming sound as soon as the Warthog got out of the way. He watched as four, 30mm HV-HEAP shells flew out of one of the smaller cannons on the <em>Jager</em><em>M</em><em>ech-</em><em>III </em>in rapid fashion, cutting through the space he was once at in just milliseconds<em>.</em> The results were devastating, as the remaining Jackals and Grunts were ripped to shreds by the salvo. When the dust cleared, the remaining enemy forces were dead.</p><p>"That was impressive," Cortana remarked. "Was that the Advanced Autocannon/2 on your 'Mech?"</p><p>"Yes," Alex replied. "As you can see, they are quite devastating when used correctly. My area is clear, Chief, but be advised; my sensors picked up an enemy contact in that corridor leading to the controls for this bridge."</p><p>"Copy that," Chief replied. Driving over to the other side, Chief disembarked from the Warthog and began moving inside, M6D at the ready. Alex's intel proved to be solid, as Chief narrowly avoided plasma fire from two Elites in the corridor. Tossing a Frag grenade into the corridor, Chief heard the satisfying sound of energy shields failing; coming around the bend, he fired four shots into the Elite Minor, while rushing up and using his knife on the second Elite. Blood poured out from it's neck as it futilely tried to stop it's lifeblood from spilling out of it's sliced throat and onto the ground. Moments later, the Elite collapsed into a pool of it's own blood. With all contacts down, Chief moved towards the end of the pathway he was on. He quickly found himself approaching what appeared to be a pair of holographic pedestals at the end of the pathway. Symbols and letters that he didn't understand slowly scrolled down the hologram, probably indicating what it's purpose was. Out of instinct, Chief pushed one of the icons on the hologram. He was briefly surprised by a brief amount of physical resistance before the hologram depressed. Looking past the display, Chief watched as a series of large objects extended over the chasm, before glowing a brilliant blue-white color. Out of seemingly thin air, a blue-white bridge seemed to fade into existence, becoming fully bright a few seconds later. Keying his COM, Chief said, "Alex, report."</p><p>"If that is a bridge, that is the strangest bridge I have ever seen in my life," Alex remarked. Looking at the bridge, he extended a foot from his <em>Jager</em><em>M</em><em>ech-</em><em>III </em>towards it, half expecting the foot to pass through. To his pure amazement, the foot of the BattleMech met firm, unyielding resistance. "What manner of science and technology is this," he whispered, surprise clearly evident in his voice.</p><p>"Amazing," Cortana agreed. "Alex, I think those projectors are causing particles of light to become quantum locked, creating a boson-photon field. It's crazy, but it's a bridge made of pure <em>light</em>."</p><p>"At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if the architects of this ring showed up," Alex remarked. Tentatively, he eased the BattleMech onto the light bridge, ready to engage the Jump Jets if the bridge faded out of existence. After a few seconds, he gunned the throttle, engaging the MASC on his BattleMech. Cortana clocked the BattleMech at 180 km/h as he beelined it for the other side. Once it was on the other side, he slowed the BattleMech down and came to a stop. Chief heard some breathless laughter on the comms before Alex said, "Well, I will be damned. That technology is the next biggest thing aside from the K-F Drive." In the background, Chief could hear Sergeant Johnson laughing out of relief, having apparently held his breath during their time on the bridge.</p><p>Inwardly, he was relieved. He was worried that the BattleMech would be too heavy for the light bridge to handle, a concern that he now knew was baseless. Returning to his Warthog, he gunned the engine and drove over the light bridge. Just as he thought, if the light bridge could handle a BattleMech, it could easily handle a Warthog's weight. As they drove on, Cortana made an announcement. "I've just locked onto the Captain's neural lace."</p><p>"Any good news," Alex asked.</p><p>"The good news is that he's alive," Cortana replied. "The bad news is that the Covenant has captured the entire, surviving command personnel. If we can located and rescue Captain Keyes, we have a chance at putting up an effective resistance." After a moment, she said, "Hang on… I'm getting a prerecorded message from Keyes, audio only. Playing it now."</p><p>A moment later, Chief and the others heard Keyes speaking. "To all surviving personnel from the <em>Pillar of Autumn,</em> this is the Captain speaking. We crash landed in a box canyon near your positions; unfortunately, the Covenant got to us first, and one of our own betrayed me and the bridge crew to them. As a result, I'm recording this message and sending it to anyone that can pick this up. In the event that I am captured, Admiral Mikhailovich Chernenko is to take command of the remaining survivors on the ring. If you can, link up with their forces and mount an resistance against the Covenant. I don't know how I know this, but I know deep down that this ring is paramount to defeating the Covenant and ending the war; you <em>must</em> take this ring from the Covenant at all costs.</p><p>"As for myself, do not attempt rescue unless Admiral Chernenko deems it necessary. The Covenant are planning to take me to one of their ships, the <em>Truth and Reconciliation</em>, which is holding position over the ring to repair battle damage it sustained from the SLS <em>Dallas</em>. If you attempt rescue, bring as much firepower as you can spare. Until then, hold off unless Mikhail can get you reinforcements. This is Captain Jacob Keyes, signing off." A moment later, the recording ended.</p><p>Everyone's hearts sank at that, Cortana's in particular. Keyes had been betrayed by one of the survivors to the Covenant, who had now captured them. She knew that the Covenant were going to interrogate Captain Keyes and learn everything they could from him. After a moment, she said, "We have to rescue Keyes. If we don't…"</p><p>"The Covenant will find Earth," Chief finished.</p><p>"Fuck<em>,</em>" Alex groaned. "This is bad, really bad. If I know Admiral Mikhailovich Chernenko, he' will mount a rescue operation as soon as it's nighttime."</p><p>"He's that experienced," Cortana asked.</p><p>"Lady," Alex replied, "Admiral Chernenko survived multiple run-ins with the Clans, extremist members of House Kurita and members of House Liao. He has also led multiple operations against advanced enemy forces without losing a single battle once. If anyone can get Captain Keyes out of a bind, it is Admiral Chernenko. We just have to get out of here alive first."</p><p>"Agreed," Chief replied simply. Worrying about what was going to happen wasn't going to help matters further. What he did know was that they had to rescue the Captain and link up with the SLDF in this system. Once they did that, their chances of successfully rescuing the Captain would go up geometrically. As they drove along, they started to go up a series of ramps towards some unseen exit. Rounding the next corner, Chief spotted the exit, which led to a forested area that was rather hilly and bumpy. Going over one such hill, Chief heard an excited whoop from the Marine manning the gun on the Warthog, with the other Marine in the passenger seat pumping a fist into the air. Behind them, the <em>Jager</em><em>M</em><em>ech-</em><em>III</em> quickly exited the tunnel and accelerated to catch up with them. Johnson could see that the 'Mech was easily handing the bumpy terrain, it's feet angling in order to provide the 'Mech with the most stable platform possible. He realized that the more he learned about the Star League and what it was capable of, the more he both admired and feared them. <em>I don't want to end up on the wrong end of this thing,</em> he thought. As they proceeded along, they found themselves in an valley that led off into different directions. To the right, they could see small, blue lights marking entry ways into other parts of the region, with the left having a similar pathway as well. Thinking carefully, Chief decided to head right first, as the cliff side area would allow the Pelican to retrieve the rescued Marines faster than if they were in an enclosed area. Turning to the right, Chief began advancing towards the entrance on the right side, with the <em>Jager</em><em>M</em><em>ech-</em><em>III</em> following closely behind. Passing through the rock walled path, they eventually came out into an area that held a large amount of boulders. Each boulder was the size of a small house, with narrow gaps that prevented anything larger than a normal human being from being able to get through. Ahead, he could see a crashed life pod… and a number of Covenant forces around it. "Hostile contacts," he called out.</p><p>"Take them out," Alex shouted. Gunning the Fusion Engine on his 'Mech, he charged forwards, firing his Pulse Lasers at the ground forces while Chief added in his Warthog's machine-gun. Spotting the incoming forces, the Covenant retaliated, firing their weapons at the 'Mech, which they perceived as the greatest threat. They might as well have been shooting spitballs at the BattleMech, as the Artemis II Energy Shield took the incoming fire with impunity. In response, Alex fired off both A-AC/2's at the enemy forces, along with his Pulse Lasers. Body parts and armor flew everywhere as the Covenant forces were almost instantly shredded by 'Mech scale weaponry. On the comms, Chief could hear him making disappointed <em>tsk</em> sounds at the scene.</p><p>With the threat of the Covenant at the life pod eliminated, Chief spotted a Covenant <em>Spirit </em>coming in fast. "Alex, can you..."</p><p>"I am aware," Alex replied, interrupting Chief. Taking aim, he aimed at the <em>Spirit </em>and immediately fired one A-AC/10. Chief heard four, loud <em>KA-THOOOM's</em> as the A-AC/10's fired at roughly 250rpm, sending what his HUD identified as 105mm, hyper velocity HEAP shells at the Covenant Troop Carrier. The <em>Spirit</em> took all four, 105mm HV-HEAP shells before it's engines and power supply were destroyed, sending the massive drop ship crashing to the ground. A few moments later, four <em>Spirits </em>came into view, making a beeline for the ground. Apparently, the Covenant had detected the BattleMech and had seen it's capabilities, prompting them to use <em>en masse </em>deployments in order to get past the AA Defense 'Mech. Out of all of the Covenant drop ships that flew into view, only two made it to the ground, disgorging their troops just as the A-AC/10's fired again, destroying the fleeing ships.</p><p>The ground forces weren't the only forces the Covenant had brought to the table. Two small, one man, hovercraft were deployed as well, an Elite manning each one. "Covenant Ghosts," Cortana informed Alex. "Small, one man vehicles that pack two Plasma Repeaters. They're fast too, so be careful."</p><p>"Copy that," Alex replied. "Chief, take out the ground forces while I handle the <em>Ghosts</em>. They will cut up the Marines faster than the infantry." Shifting aim, he fired his A-AC/2's at the <em>Ghosts</em>, along with the VS-MPL's. The <em>Ghosts</em> fired back at the <em>Jager</em><em>M</em><em>ech-</em><em>III</em>, peppering it's energy shields with plasma bolts. While they moved fast, and the 'Mech was a larger target, the BattleMech also had the advantage of speed, and it's ability to rotate it's torso roughly 120 degrees in either direction. As a result, he could turn the <em>Jager</em><em>Mech-III</em><em>'s </em>upper torso, while having the legs moving the 'Mech to where it needed to go. Accelerating the 'Mech to roughly 75 km/h, he expertly maneuvered the BattleMech, dodging most of the plasma shots aimed at him easily. Firing his A-AC/2's, he destroyed one of the <em>Ghosts</em> with a single, well placed burst that cored the vehicle. The destroyed <em>Ghost</em> exploded when it's plasma containment was compromised, causing the rear of the vehicle to fly away from the front. The last remaining <em>Ghost</em> was too close for him to use his A-AC/2's without damaging the 'Mech's shields. Instead of firing at it, he did something that the Elite piloting the <em>Ghost</em> didn't expect: he kicked out with the 'Mech's right leg. There was a loud <em>CLANG</em> as the foot of the BattleMech impacted the <em>Ghost</em>, sending it flying a good 20 meters into the air. Before it came down, he fired a single, A-AC/10 round into the <em>Ghost</em>, destroying it instantly before it landed roughly 40 meters away. He smirked when he heard Johnson having a good laugh in the rumble seat behind him, the Sergeant having been greatly amused by the sight.</p><p>While Alex was having fun destroying the <em>Ghosts</em>, Chief was busy keeping the Marines alive and well. Having traded the MPL Rifle for an MA5B, he was busy neutralizing an Elite that got too close to him. Punching the Elite in the face with a fist, he quickly fired a burst into it's stomach, killing the Elite Minor instantly. Turning to his left, he was just in time to see the foot of Alex's <em>Jager</em><em>M</em><em>ech-</em><em>III</em> punt a <em>Ghost </em>into the air, a A-AC/10 shot blasting the <em>Ghost </em>to smithereens at the peak of it's flight through the air. Behind him, Chief could hear more than one Marine on the rock above him snickering or downright laughing at the sight. As soon as the <em>Ghost</em> was destroyed, two more <em>Spirits </em>came into view, and were just as quickly dispatched by the <em>Jager</em><em>M</em><em>ech-</em><em>III</em><em>'s</em> weaponry. Turning back to his grizzly work, Chief quickly neutralized the remaining Grunts in the area before keying his COM. "Commander, what's your status," he asked.</p><p>"Doing fine," Alex replied, a hint of dark amusement in his voice. "Johnson's having a laugh ever since I punted that <em>Ghost </em>clean into the air. Reminds me of when I played football as a kid; wasn't much good of a quarterback, but I could send a football flying through the air some distance. I'll bet the Marines are having a good laugh too." Chief merely shook his head slightly as the Marines continued to snicker and laugh behind him. Apparently, they were darkly amused by the sight as well.</p><p>After a few seconds, Cortana said, "I'm detecting no more Covenant drop ships inbound. Foe Hammer, this is Cortana. We've reached the Marines at the rock slide and are requesting reinforcements."</p><p>"Affirmative, Cortana," came the reply. "Echo-419 inbound."</p><p>With the Marines rescued, Cortana said, "Let's move on to the other crash site. It's in a narrow valley that has another unidentified structure inside of it."</p><p>"I'm afraid I'll have to stay behind," Alex told Cortana. "That entryway's really narrow, and I don't know if I can get in there without damaging my armor. Can you scout it out to see if I can fit?"</p><p>"Yes," Cortana replied. With that, Chief began making his way back down the rocky terrain. Once he was at the Warthog, he gunned the engine and began driving out of there. The <em>Jager</em><em>M</em><em>ech-</em><em>III </em>followed behind shortly after.</p><p>As soon as they were out of the valley, Alex felt the 'Mech lurch. Looking at his systems readout, he found that the rear shields were being damaged by something. Turning his 'Mech around, he noticed four, Covenant <em>Banshees</em> that were firing at him. One fired a large, bolus of green glowing plasma that impacted his shields, jolting his 'Mech somewhat. "Enemy AeroSpace Fighters," he remarked. "I have got this." Firing his VS-MPL's, he downed two <em>Banshees </em>before firing his A-AC/2's at the remaining two. Both <em>Banshees </em>took a single burst before detonating, their chassis' falling to the ground with a quiet <em>clunk. </em>As they continued onward, he frowned slightly. <em>The Covenant are learning about the capabilities of this BattleMech, </em>he thought analytically. <em>Eventually, they will send down something that can take on a BattleMech and have a decent chance of winning the fight </em>When he thought about this, it immediately made sense as to why the Covenant were wining. By fighting the Covenant long enough, the UNSC had, unwittingly, taught the Covenant their art of war. If the SLDF was to avoid falling into the same trap, they had to constantly mix up their tactics in order to maintain an edge. <em>On top of that, we need to salvage their technology and reverse engineer it, so that we can greatly improve our own</em>. Either way, he knew that they needed to end the war on Halo quickly and decisively. <em>We'll have to rescue Keyes first, though, </em>Alex decided. <em>Then we'll worry about kicking the Covenant off of Halo. </em>With that in mind, he continued to maintain the distance between himself and the Warthog. Eventually, they came to the entrance of the second area. Despite his fears, Alex found that the 'Mech was just barely small enough to get through, though he had to lower his speed greatly to avoid running into the walls of the gorge. "You go on ahead of me," he told Chief. "I will catch up when I can. If I have to, I will use the Jump Jets to hop onto the plateau above."</p><p>"Copy that," Chief replied. As the Warthog sped on ahead, Alex began to carefully pick his way through the gorge. Fortunately, the walls of the gorge were just wide enough to allow him to carefully move the <em>Jager</em><em>M</em><em>ech-</em><em>III </em>through undamaged.</p><p>He came out just in time to find himself face to face with two Covenant <em>Spirits </em>that were coming to land. Spotting the BattleMech, the <em>Spirits </em>fired their plasma cannons at the 'Mech, peppering it with plasma fire. Instinctively, he rotated the upper torso of the BattleMech to the right, a maneuver that 'MechWarriors used in order to protect the center torso and cockpit from incoming missile and Autocannon fire. That maneuver saved him a moderately damaged cockpit, as the Artemis II Energy Shield was quickly overwhelmed by the incoming fire. He could hear loud <em>THUMPs </em>and <em>PINGs</em> as the Advanced Ferro-Lamellor armor took the attacks in stride. Turning his 'Mech's torso back forwards, he retaliated with an Alpha Strike, the 'MechWarrior term for firing all weapons at once at an enemy. The <em>blitzkrieg </em>attack was just the medicine needed, as the <em>Spirits </em>weren't able to dodge the fusillade in time. One of the <em>Spirit's </em>detonated explosively, while the other limped away, with one half of the ship completely gone. The infantry on the ground made a beeline for any available cover they could find, not wanting to find out what happened when 'Mech scale munitions impacted nanolaminate armor. It made little difference in the end, as he saw an Elite's head explode from an unseen projectile. Spotting a condensation trail, he followed it back to a hill just at the end of the valley they were in, where he spotted a glint of light. Zooming in via the 'Mech's systems, he spotted the Master Chief holding what he realized was an sniper rifle. A scan indicated it was a 'SRS-99c Anti-Materiel Rifle.' <em>Impressive, for a Common Tech weapon,</em> Alex thought to himself.</p><p>Moving up, he checked his 'Mech's armor to see if he needed to be worried. His systems readout indicated that some of the armor on his BattleMech was damaged, as he could see that the armor layer on the <em>JagerMech-III's </em>left side was a yellow-green color on the readout. The energy shields began recharging a moment later, until the 'Mech's image was coated in a blue silhouette that indicated the energy shield's strength. <em>That was a little close for comfort,</em> he thought. <em>Fortunately, it appears as though Advanced Ferro-Lamellor armor is effective at stopping Covenant energy weaponry. </em><em>We'll have to improve our armor's resistance to their weaponry though. </em>Another group of <em>Spirits</em> came to offload more infantry, and to fire on the 'Mech. he did not want to have his armor damaged any further, so when they came over the cliff side, he immediately opened fire with what he had. Three of the <em>Spirits </em>went down almost immediately, their hulls perforated by HV-HEAP shells and laser beams, while the last one landed and offloaded it's troops, just before it was destroyed. The ground infantry, combined with the VS-MPL's quickly neutralized the rest of the Covenant. Checking his ammunition levels, he found that he had roughly 56 shells of A-AC/10 ammunition left, while he had roughly 110 shells of A-AC/2 ammunition remaining. So far, he was pleased with how effective 'Mech scale weaponry was proving to be against Covenant Combat Vehicles. He noticed that the A-AC's were proving to be more effective against the armor than the laser weaponry was. <em>It could be their armor is specifically designed to withstand energy attacks, </em>he thought. <em>If that's the case, then it's doing it's job, but the A-AC shells are still getting through.</em></p><p>While Cortana called Echo-419 to pick up the survivors, Alex turned to Johnson in the rumble seat behind him. "Sergeant, how are you enjoying the ride," he asked.</p><p>"Just fine," Sergeant Johnson replied. "Those lean, mean Elites started running away like chickens when they saw your 'Mech. I'm not going to forget how you kicked that <em>Ghost </em>like a soccer ball."</p><p>"Me neither," Alex replied. "I have got the video footage recorded into the computer on my 'Mech. Perhaps when we've got some time, I will show it to the rest of the men, see how they like it." Personally, he wanted to see the reactions on the Marines faces when they saw the footage. They'd probably be amazed, and amused at the same time. As soon as the Pelican came into view once more, Chief returned to his Warthog and proceeded to exit the ravine. Following behind, Alex guided the <em>JagerMech-III</em> through the canyon once more, this time a little faster since he was more confident as to his ability to maneuver in tight spaces. Once they were fully out, he accelerated the engine. Again, more <em>Banshees </em>fired on the 'Mech, and met a quick end at the other end of the 'Mech's weaponry. As they advanced onward, he spotted something over the rise of one of the small mounds in the valley. When he zoomed in with the optics, he found that the object in question was another life pod, though he didn't see anyone nearby. "Chief," he reported, "looks like we have got another life pod in front of us."</p><p>"Moving there now," was the response.</p><p>Once they reached the life pod, Cortana said, "It's definitely another life pod, but I'm not detecting any weapons fire or survivors nearby."</p><p>Looking at the ground behind the pod, one of the Marines with Chief said, "Damn, what a mess. Looks like the weapons and supply lockers broke open on impact. Where are the bodies, though?"</p><p>"That is a good question," Johnson remarked. "I don't recall any mention of ghost life pods, so this is something new."</p><p>"Indeed," Alex mused. After a moment, he began thinking,then he said, "We probably will no't ever know who was in this life pod, but if I had to guess, I would say it was the Captain's life pod, given it's proximity to the canyon entrance there." He pointed at a narrow entrance to a rockier area of the region they were in. "They probably went that way to throw off any pursuers."</p><p>"I'm running a scan," Cortana replied. After a moment, she said, "Chief, Alex's right. This life pod was the one the Captain used. Apparently, since the Covenant bogged down the other survivors, they fled into that canyon there."</p><p>"<em>Surats</em>," Alex snarled, banging a fist into the side of the BattleMech's cockpit. "We were so close. If it was not for those damn Covenant <em>stravags</em>, then we would've been able to get to him. We will get the Captain back, and when I find the Captain of that Covenant ship, I will issue a Trial of Grievance against him. This is clearly too far."</p><p>"Let's focus on getting some help first," Johnson said placatingly. "Once we're out of the fire, then we'll discuss how we're going to get the Captain back. The only person I'm concerned about is Major Silvia; given how little we know of your Star League, no offense intended, he might not trust you fully."</p><p>Chief nodded in agreement. Major Silvia was a hard-line UNSC officer, and a highly proficient one at that. When it came to meeting other factions, though, Silvia tended to have a problem with anyone that didn't swear unwavering allegiance to the UNSC. The fact that the Star League was one such faction was a potential flash point when it came to the Major. On the other hand, Silvia might not have a problem working with the Star League at all. They'd already proven their effectiveness against the Covenant during the space battle over the Ring, and Chief himself had seen what a <em>JagerMech-III</em> was capable of on it's own. It was as likely as not that Silvia might swallow his pride and patriotism and work with the Star League, albeit hesitantly at that. <em>Either way, it makes little difference,</em> Chief thought. <em>Our ultimate goals are to protect Humanity by any means necessary, which means the Star League and UNSC have a common enemy. Since they're human as well, I don't think we'll have any problems working out an agreement. Besides, Keyes gave the survivors orders to obey Admiral Chernenko in the event he was captured. </em>After a moment, he said, "We'll get the Captain back ASAP. For now, we focus on the other survivors."</p><p>"Agreed," Cortana replied. "We have one more group of Marines to rescue before we can call for evac. Pelicans are capable of space operations, so we'll be able to get to the <em>Dallas </em>with little trouble."</p><p>"That will save logistical problems," Alex remarked. "Either way, we've heard the lady. Let's rescue the other survivors, then we'll focus on getting the Captain back, if the Admiral deems it necessary." There was no further conversation until they reached the entrance to the other area, where another series of unidentified structures were found. Two were entrances to the rest of the facility, which was buried underneath the ground. The above ground structure was a near-carbon copy of the facility that Johnson's men had been at after they crash landed. The only difference was that, just as Foehammer had said, it was situated near the edge of a cliff. All of the structures were built with the same, silvery-white, material that the architects of the Dyson Ring had used. When it came to that, he remembered something. When the 30mm HV-HEAP shells had impacted the same material, they had completely failed to penetrate the substance. <em>It could be the material is impervious to ballistic attacks, </em>he thought. <em>The lasers did little more than scorch the stuff, and phased plasma rounds had a little more success than that. I might be able to use my A-AC/10'</em><em>s</em><em> without risking injury to any survivors, so long as they're underground still. </em>His musings were interrupted when he spotted a Jackal that was walking about. Upon spotting the BattleMech, it let off a screech that was audible from his position and immediately made a beeline for the structure. <em>Well, there goes the element of surprise</em>, he thought. <em>I can hardly blame the guy, though: BattleMechs were not built for stealth.</em></p><p>Chief gunned the Warthog engine a moment later, interrupting Alex's train of thought as the UNSC Combat Vehicle charged forwards. Moments later, the sound of it's .50 cal minigun firing off reached his ears. Shaking his head, the Clan 'MechWarrior advanced forwards. Surprisingly, he noticed that the balcony that the ramps on the main structure led to was just a little lower than the <em>JagerMech-III's </em>main weapon compliment. That meant that he could fire at the Covenant forces that were gathering on the balcony. <em>Apparently, the architects of the Dyson Ring didn't take BattleMechs into account when designing the place, </em>he thought as he took aim. Moments later, bursts of 30mm HV-HEAP shells were being flung at the Covenant on the balcony. Just then, he felt his 'Mech being jostled around by an impact from behind, causing the 'Mech's shields to flare somewhat. Turning around, he watched as a few <em>Banshees </em>began flying at him, firing their bombs at him, while a Grunt on the ground held a weapon that he realized was the Covenant's equivalent of an SRM-IV Launcher, the Star League's premier Anti-Vehicular Weapon. Acting quickly, he fired his A-AC/2's at the <em>Banshees</em>, neutralizing them as a threat before using his MPL's on the Grunt, which he distantly noted was overkill.</p><p>While this was going on, Chief disembarked from his Warthog and began heading inside the structure, where Cortana said the Marine's I/FF signals were coming from. Heading down below, he found the Marines and Covenant forces locked into a mortal battle with each other. The Covenant had deployed shield fortifications for their troops, which was hampering the Marine's ability to take the enemy down. <em>Not anymore</em>, Chief thought as he attacked the Covenant from their unprotected rear. Four Grunts and two Jackals went down before the Covenant forces reacted to the new threat. An Elite with an Energy Sword charged his position, mandibles flared as it roared at him. Moving to the side, Chief smoothly dodged the blow, and introduced the Elite's skull to his knife, scrambling it's brains while the Marines, sensing their new advantage, immediately pushed forwards in a desperate charge. After twenty seconds of more fighting, the Covenant forces were down. It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, though. Five Marines were dead, their armor having failed to protect them from the Covenant's weaponry. Three Marines were severely burned, with one unable to hold back his screams of pain as the corpsman desperately worked to save his life. The rest were either uninjured, or had mild burns that didn't require immediate attention. "Can we move the wounded," Chief asked the corpsman.</p><p>"I think so," she replied. "I'll need to move this guy on a stretcher. Everyone else, grab an injured man, we're leaving." Two Marines came and, using a makeshift stretcher, began moving the screaming Marine as gently as they could. The other two were hefted to their feet by an accompanying Marine, allowing the injured to lean on them for support. The rest reloaded their weapons, or discarded their empty weapons and grabbed the ones the Covenant had 'graciously' left for them. Once the able bodied men were ready, Chief led them outside. He stopped them when he heard a loud <em>THUNK</em> outside, signaling that something had hit the structure they were in. When it didn't come back, he continued to lead the men out of the facility and into the exterior. Coming outside, Chief saw the source of the sound: a large, black scorch mark marred the silvery-white material of the facility, indicative of an Autocannon shell impacting the structure. Surrounding the scorch mark were three Elites, eight Grunts and four Jackals, all dead from the detonation.</p><p>A moment later, Chief heard Alex say, "Sorry about that, Chief. I spotted a Covenant squad getting ready to ambush your men. Needless to say, an A-AC/10 shell convinced them of the error of their ways. You should be all clear to come out now."</p><p>Chief understood. By targeting and eliminating the ambushers before they could get to work, Alex had saved him a few men, as well as a lot of ammunition. "Thanks," he simply said in reply.</p><p>"It was the least I could do," Alex replied. "The most I can do, however, is getting you to the <em>Dallas</em> alive and unharmed. I just got word that they have driven back the Covenant ships temporarily. They are currently rearming and repairing any battle damage they suffered. As a result, the are currently in a YardShip that's orbiting the ring."</p><p>"YardShip," Cortana asked. "Is that like a mobile shipyard?"</p><p>"Yes," Alex replied. "YardShips are essential for long term naval operations. They are designed to repair any damage that a WarShip suffered during a combat action, and perform maintenance as well. Supply Carriers work in tandem with YardShips in order to efficiently rearm and repair the WarShip in question."</p><p>"Oh. Interesting. Will we be learning more about the Star League once we get aboard your ship?"</p><p>"Aff. Admiral Chernenko is planning a meeting with the surviving officers from the <em>Pillar of Autumn</em> in order to dispel any unreasonable fears, as well as to plan our next move. He's made it clear that he doesn't want to fight the UNSC if he doesn't have to. He'll also be contacting the UNSC's leadership via C-HPG."</p><p>"C-HPG?"</p><p>"Compact HyperPulse Generator. It is the WarShip mounted version of the standard HyperPulse Generator, which is our primary means of FTL communication in the Inner Sphere. It is based off of the older Mobile HPG. I take it you do not have FTL communications?"</p><p>"Not exactly. We do have laser communications with other ships, but we don't really have long range FTL communications. The only type we are are Wavespace Relays, and they're not accurate at long ranges."</p><p>"We will have to… Hang on a second." At that moment, Chief and the others had gotten onto the platform that the Covenant had formerly occupied. Everywhere he looked, Chief found blast marks and scorched areas where Alex had laid into the Covenant that were on the balcony. Blood, internal organs, limbs and shrapnel were scattered everywhere on the balcony, indicative of the violence the <em>JagerMech-III </em>had inflicted on the hapless Covenant. Hearing a soft <em>squelch</em>, Chief looked down to see that he'd stepped on the brain of an Elite, it's head having been chopped in half by shrapnel. Moving on, he watched as Alex engaged a flight of <em>Spirits </em>that were inbound. Fortunately, the amount coming in had sharply dropped, as Alex quickly neutralized all of them. After a few seconds, he said, "I'm seeing no contacts. Launching UAV." There was a brief <em>POP </em>as a small drone was launched out of a small tube just behind the cockpit of the <em>JagerMech-III</em>. Rising up into the air, the drone came to a stop roughly 900m above the ground and began scanning. After about thirty seconds, Alex said, "No contacts detected. The skies are clear. Echo-419, this is Star Commander Alex. All hostile contacts have been neutralized; you are clear to land. Be advised, we have wounded on board."</p><p>"Rodger, Commander," Foehammer replied. "Echo-419 coming on station. You have a destination in mind?"</p><p>"Aff,' Alex replied. "We are taking the surviving UNSC personnel to the <em>Dallas, Atlas </em>and <em>Lincoln.</em> The wounded will be heading to the medical bays, while the able bodied personnel are going to be getting some much needed R&amp;R. I will be attending a meeting with Admiral Chernenko along with the Chief. We will need to discuss a plan of action for the next coming days. Sending coordinates to the ship… now."</p><p>Moments later, a small data packet left the <em>JagerMech-III </em>and was uploaded into the Pelican coming in. "Affirmative, Commander," Foehammer replied. "Echo-419 inbound."</p><p>"Excellent," Alex replied. Switching frequencies, he said, "SLS/CWS <em>Mjolnir's Hammer, </em>Commander Alex here. There is an open valley just behind me that you can land in. Once you have landed, I will load up the BattleMech and we will leave to rendezvous with the <em>Dallas.</em>"</p><p>"Rodger, Commander," Alexandria replied. "Heading to coordinates now. ETA: 4 mikes."</p><p>As the transmission ended, Echo-419 came into view, the Pelican flaring it's engines as it landed to pick up the remaining survivors. Moving on to the valley they'd traveled through, Alex patiently waited for the <em>Union-IV </em>DropShip to land. Right on schedule, the massive DropShip gently landed on the ground, it's engines scorching the ground below. Once it landed, a blast door to the 'Mech Bay opened up, allowing Alex to smoothly guide the battered, but operational <em>JagerMech-III</em> into the Bay. "Take her up," Alex ordered as soon as the Blast Door hermetically sealed shut. With a thunderous roar, the Fusion Ramjets underneath the DropShp came to life. Powering up to full throttle, the DropShip lifted up into the air with a grace that belied it's size. It rapidly accelerated, until it was able to break free of the atmosphere of the ring. Alex knew one thing as he headed to the Bridge: a new war had begun, one that would pit the bravest and finest personnel of the Inner Sphere against the Covenant. <em>I just hope we're up to the challenge, </em>he thought.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Inner Sphere Codex Entry: Energy Shields</p><p>Energy Shield technology originally got it's developmental origins during the Amaris Civil War, when Stefan Amaris began pushing research into developing practical energy shield technology. Progress was steady, but slow, as the prototype technology required large amounts of energy to function optimally. Eventually, Stefan Amaris abandoned the project, pushing the remaining funding into the development of the poorly designed Matar BattleMech.</p><p>Development of energy shield technology remained at a halt until after the end of the Succession War, when SLDF AI Daedalus discovered the technology in a Rim Worlds Republic data cache. After determining the probability of making the technology possible, the AI and the New Avalon Institute of Science and Technology, began intense research into energy shields. Accelerated by the development of nanocomposites and nanotechnology, the new science project, code-named PROJECT PERSEUS, succeeded in the year 2821, when the prototype Perseus Energy Shield System was tested.</p><p>The prototype proved to have too many problems and faults to enter mass production, but it was seen as a solid 'proof-of-concept' design. The first commercially, and militarily, successful energy shield would be the Perseus II Energy Shield System, which was designed in 2830 for use on military WarShips in the Star League Defense Force. The design proved to be highly successful, with new shielding systems designed as spinoffs of the new technology. In 2840, the Diana Shield System was developed for use in Combat Vehicles and BattleMechs; shortly after, in 2847, the Heracles Energy Shield System was developed for use in Battle Armor and Infantry Armor Kits. All of these spinoffs proved to be wildly successful, and have been used as templates on which current generation energy shields are based on</p><p>Inner Sphere energy shields work by creating a series of 'shield panels' via micro-emitters built into the vehicle chassis before melding them together into a form fitting sheath of energized particles, which are held in place by a magnetic field. In combat, Energy shields are the equivalent of adding another layer of Advanced Ferro-Lamellor to a BattleMech and/or Combat Vehicle, and is equivalent to adding another layer of Advanced Lamellor Ferro-Carbide armor to a WarShip. The only way to disable an energy shield quickly is either overwhelming firepower or the use of energy weapons, such as a PPC (Particle Projection Cannon).</p></blockquote></div></div>
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